Closing Doors  the Sequel
by emelleah
Summary: The follow up to Closing Doors, featuring Elle Piper and Andy Clemmensen of Short Stack. Also includes Bradie Webb and Shaun Diviney
1. Chapter 1

Chapter one

Andy's Point of View

"Andrew! What the hell is going on?" I hear my mother's voice screaming at me and I inwardly groan as my head feels like it's going to explode. I roll over and throw my arm over my eyes to avoid the light that's suddenly filled the room.

"Oh my head" I hear to the right hand side of me and when I suddenly realise that's not Elle's voice I quickly sit up and look beside me.

Julie is lying there, in my bed, and it looks like she's naked. What the fuck is going on? I look over to the door way where my mother is standing glaring at me.

"Andrew Clemmensen, what the hell have you done?" she says and I look between her and Julie and back again. What have I done? I try my hardest to remember what happened last night but I've got nothing.

"Turn the lights off" I hear Julie say beside me and my mother is instantly across the room and in her face.

"Listen to me you little tart, you have exactly one minute to tell me what is going on here and to get your clothes on and your ass out of my house" she yells at Julie.

I put my hand under the doona and check to make sure I have jocks on, which thankfully I do, before climbing out of bed and grabbing some clothes.

Julie sits up and holds the sheet around her whilst reaching for her shirt. She pulls it on under the doona and stands. I'm relieved she still has her jeans on but when Mum sees it she loses her cool.

"What the hell do you think you're doing in my son's bed with no shirt on? His girlfriend just came in here and saw you two."

My stomach clenches and I feel like I'm going to throw up. "What? Elle was here?" I ask mum and she nods.

"She just bolted out of the house five minutes ago" she tells me and I run out of the room. As I fling open the front door I see her car travel down the road and round the corner.

"FUCK!" I scream out, holding my head in my hands.

I run back in the house and into my room. Lewis is sitting up in the lounge as I run by and yells out "What the fuck is going on?"

I ignore him and go in search of my phone. Mum is still in my room, sitting on my bed and there's no sign of Julie.

"Did she say anything?" I ask her as I find my phone on my desk and switch it on.

"Who? Julie?" she says.

"I couldn't give a rat's ass about Julie Mum. Elle, okay, did Elle say anything when she left?" I ask as I impatiently wait for my phone to connect to the network.

"No, she didn't. She just ran out" she tells me. "I spoke to Julie and she informs me that nothing happened between you two, in case you were wondering."

I glance at mum and she's staring at me, her eyebrows raised in question.

"I know I wouldn't have done anything Mum, come on. What do you take me for?" I ask her as I dial Elle's number finally.

It rings three times and cuts off abruptly. Shit, she's turned her phone off. I dial the number again and this time it goes straight to message bank.

"God damn it!" I yell and throw my phone down on my bed.

"She's not answering is she?" mum says.

"No, she's turned it off. Shit what do I do?" I think out loud.

"What the hell is going on?" I hear Bradie as from the doorway and I look up to see him and Lewis standing there. I just shake my head and rub my face, trying to think what to do now. I see Julie slink past Bradie and Lewis and disappear down the hall.

"Well, I'm pretty sure that Alice stayed the night at Elle's. Perhaps she said something to her?" Mum says as I nod and brush past Lewis on my way out. Bradie follows me down the hall and asks me repeatedly what's happening.

When I pass the lounge I see Julie talking quietly to Shannon. "Get the fuck out of my house and don't you ever come back here" I yell and point at her. The look on Shannon's face is pure shock followed by anger.

"What do you think you're doing, speaking to Julie like that?" Shannon yells at me.

"Ask your wonderful, perfect little cousin what she's done now. I've got more important things to do" I say as I keep walking out of the house and over to Elle's, with Bradie trailing behind me.

"Why are you following me?" I ask him over my shoulder as I reach the front door and bang on it.

"What's happened?" he asks me as the door opens and Alice is standing there.

"Where did Elle go?" I ask her, not even bothering with a 'hello'.

"I don't know Andy" she says. I glare at her and she says "I really don't okay?"

Bradie steps around me and stands next to Alice in the doorway and puts his arm around her shoulder.

"Well, what did she say?" I ask her.

"Nothing. What's happened?" she asks me and I shake my head.

"I was asleep but I think she came into my room and saw Julie and I in bed. Nothing happened though" I quickly say as I see the anger flash across both Alice's and Bradie's faces.

"Do you know that for sure?" Bradie asks and I nod my head.

"She didn't have a shirt on but still had her skin-tight jeans on. There's no way anything happened between me and her, I'm telling you both now. I was drunk but I wasn't that drunk. When I went to bed, I was alone. She's obviously crawled in afterwards" I tell them.

"Oh God, no wonder Elle was so upset" Alice says as I hear the front door from home slam shut. I see Julie and Shannon walking out to his car. He looks pretty pissed with her and she seems to be crying. Well, good, she gets what she deserves. Bradie and Alice are watching as well.

"She must have told him what happened" Bradie says to me.

I nod and focus my attention back on Alice. "Did she say anything at all?" I ask her again.

"Oh hang on" she says and steps back inside.

I rub my hands over my eyes again, my head still feels like it's going to explode but it's the least of my worries at the moment.

When Alice comes back out she hands me the CD I made for Elle. My chest constricts and I feel as though someone is slowly choking me. I take a breath and look up at Alice and Bradie.

"Her words were 'when he comes, give him this'" Alice tells me. I see the look of sympathy wash over Bradie's face.

I close my eyes and get control of my emotions. When I open them again I say "Did she say anything else?"

"Just to lock the house up when I leave and that she'd call me. She had a bag in her hand and she woke the kids up and then left."

Nodding I say "thanks Alice" and turn and walk away. I get to where my car is parked and lean against the driver's door. The keys are inside the house but I don't want to drive anywhere just yet. I need to think what to do.

She won't answer her phone if I call. Okay, well what if I borrowed Bradie's phone and called her? That might work.

I can't believe this mess I'm in, fucking hell.

"Hey, are you alright?" I hear Bradie say and I look up to see him leaning against my car bonnet.

"No. Not really. What the fuck do I do here Bradie? She's turned her phone off so she obviously doesn't want to speak to me. I need to tell her that nothing happened. That Julie is just a self-centred bitch that set me up."

"Yeah, both Alice and I tried ringing her. Let's go inside, come on" he says and throws his arm around my shoulder as we walk inside.

"So you believe me then?" I ask him as we approach the front door.

"Yeah, of course I do" he says as he opens the front door and we walk inside.

Mum is standing in the kitchen holding Chris whilst Lewis is making a coffee.

"Did you get a hold of her?" she asks as I put the CD on the bench in front of me.

I shake my head and Mum comes around the bench and hugs me.

"What's this?" Lewis asks as he picks up the CD.

"I made it for Elle. She told Alice to give it back to me" I say.

"Oh honey" Mum says as she gives me that sympathetic look.

"What'd I miss" Jumpnow asks as he wanders into the kitchen.

"Elle found Andy in bed with a half-naked Julie, gave back his CD and left" Lewis says before sipping his coffee.

I just glare at him and he says "What? That's what happened."

"So that was what all the yelling was about then" Jumpnow says.

"Who wants a cuppa?" Mum asks. Jumpnow and Bradie both nod and I shake my head.

"I'm going to grab a quick shower then go see if I can find Elle" I tell them as I head into my room to get some clean clothes to wear.

When I walk into the bathroom and lock the door behind me I take a deep breath and let myself succumb to the heartache I'm feeling. How the fuck did this happen?

I knew I couldn't trust Julie, especially when she started hanging around me more towards the end of the night. She was like a leech at one point there before Bradie dragged her away. I honestly had thought she'd leave me the fuck alone when she saw I was with Elle.

I start the shower and quickly wash my face and hair. When I get out, I brush away the fur from my teeth and gargle some mouthwash. My hangover is nasty but I need to push that aside.

I dress and go back out to the kitchen to find some Panadol for my headache.

"Here sweetie, happy birthday" Mum says handing me a parcel. I'd clean forgot it was my birthday and it's the last thing on my mind at the moment.

"Thanks Mum" I say as I accept the present, kissing her cheek and put it on the bench. "I need some Panadol" I say as I head to the medicine cupboard and grab the packet out.

A chorus of happy birthdays are said by Lewis, Bradie and Jumpnow as I pop out three tablets and grab a glass of water. I swallow down the pills and say "thanks" to everyone.

"You really should eat something with them" Mum says and I nod at her.

"I'll stop at Maccas drive through and grab some breakfast, I promise" I tell her grabbing my keys off the bench. "I'm going out for a while" I say as I head to the front door.

"Hang on, we'll come with you" Lewis says as I turn and look at him.

"I'm looking for Elle, do you really want to come?" I ask him.

"Hell yes, if Maccas is involved I'll even help you search for Jesus" he says. "Just give us a second, I need to take a piss" he says running down the hallway to the bathroom.

"Anyone else?" I say and Bradie and Jumpnow both nod.

"Come on then. Mum, ring me if you hear from her or you have any news" I say.

"I will. Be careful" she says as I walk out the front door, Bradie and Jumpnow following me.

I unlock my car and Bradie gets in the front, Jumpnow in the back as we sit and wait for Lewis.

I turn the radio on and tune it to the local station. When Lewis jumps in the backseat I reverse the car out of the driveway and head to McDonalds, knowing that the guys won't shut up until their fed.

They all talk about last night and I ignore them for the better part of the drive. When we pull up in the drive-through I ask them all what they want and order it as one order. When we get to the first window I pull a $50 from my wallet and pay for it all. When they are all happy and devouring their breakfast I pull out again whilst eating bacon and egg McMuffin and drive to the park.

When I pull in, I notice right away that her car isn't here. I make a u-turn in the parking lot and head back out again. I drive past her work, past the shopping centre she usually visits, down to the beach, all the while looking for her car but never seeing it.

The other three spend the whole morning talking about crap and I pretty much ignore them all. Bradie's phone rings at one point and I look eagerly at him whilst he reads the caller id display. He shakes his head at me and answers it with "Hey Alice."

I listen intently trying to figure out if maybe she's heard from Elle but when Bradie hangs up he says "she just wanted to let me know she's heading home."

"She hasn't heard anything?" I ask him and he shakes his head.

We drive around for another hour but don't see her anywhere. I head for home and when we pull up Mum appears at the front door.

"No luck?" she says as I walk up to the house shaking my head.

I follow her inside and sit at the kitchen bench again. "Do you guys want some lunch?" Mum asks everyone as she walks to the fridge and starts pulling food out.

I pick up the CD Elle left and study the picture on the front.

I'm lost in a memory of the two of us at the park when the sound of my phone ringing wakes me from my daydream. I grab it and check the display. It's Alice.

"Hey, did you hear from her?" I ask quickly.

"She just called me then. She's on her way to the Gold Coast to stay with her brother for a couple of days."

"Do you have his number? Did you tell her what happened?" I say.

"Yeah I did Andy. She's okay I think but still wants some time to herself before she comes back. She's just hurt I think."

"She doesn't want to talk to me does she?" I ask her.

"No, she doesn't, not yet anyhow. She did say to let you know that she'll call you soon. But just give her some time."

"Did she believe me? That I did nothing wrong?" I ask.

"Yeah I think so. But you have to remember, she's been hurt badly before. When she saw you guys, she panicked. When I saw her come in the front door, she was as white as a ghost and shaking so badly. I honestly thought she was having a fit or something until I saw her move again."

"Do you happen to have her brother's number?" I ask Alice.

"No I'm sorry. She didn't tell me. I only know his name is Terry. Just let her calm down and I'm sure she'll ring you soon okay? It'll work out Andy, I'm sure. She loves you."

"Thanks for letting me know anyhow Alice. I'll talk to you later" I say as I hang up the phone.

Everyone is looking at me, waiting for an update. "She's on her way to her brother's place at the Gold Coast. Alice told her what happened but she wants some time away anyhow."

"Well at least we know she's okay" Mum says, trying to find a positive in the news.

"I'm going to go lay down for a while. I'll see you guys later. Thanks for coming down you two" I say to Lewis and Jumpnow and shake their hands, giving them the one-armed man-hug.

"Thanks for having us" they say as I turn and walk down the hall to my room.

I strip the sheets from my bed and lie down on the bare mattress and close my eyes.

All I can see is Elle's face before me and I try to think of something else so I can get some rest. In the end I give up and let myself daydream again about when we were together that first time in the park. It seems like so long ago.

I must have dozed off for a bit because my eyes fly open when I hear my phone beep with a new text message.

_I spoke to Alice, she told me what happened. I'm at my brother's house and will be home Wednesday. I'll speak to you then, Elle._

No kiss, no 'I love you', no emotion. I wonder if I should reply but think 'fuck it' and pick my phone back up.

_Happy you're okay. I miss you. Please come back to me soon. X_

After I send it I think to myself, 'when did I become such a love-sick pussy?'

I look at the time and see it's after six pm. I crawl out of bed, slip my phone back into my pocket and head to the toilet before going out to find out what the other members of my family are doing.

I find them all in the lounge room and when I walk in I notice that there are a few presents on the coffee table.

"Happy birthday" Dad says as I walk in and I realise I haven't seen him since last night.

"Thanks" I say as I sit on the floor and Mum leans forward, sliding the presents towards me.

"Do you feel a bit better?" she asks and I nod.

As I reach for the first present my phone goes off again from my back pocket and I quickly pull it back out again.

_Happy Birthday. I miss you too. _

I let the smile on my face grow and look up to see Mum smiling at me.

"She messaged you?"Mum says and I nod.

"Yeah. She told me she's at her brother's house and she'll be home on Tuesday. She just sent me one then wishing me a happy birthday and she said she missed me too" I say.

"You guys will sort this out, I'm positive" Mum says and Dad nod in agreement.

"Come on, open your presents" says Bradie. "It might cheer you up a bit to see how much money I spent on you for a change" he says.

I smile slightly and grab the first present, relaxing a bit knowing that Elle is missing me too.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two

I tune the radio into an easy-listening station and sing along with the songs for awhile. The kids fell asleep not long after we left and haven't stirred since. I've been doing some quiet thinking, making the most of the time to myself.

I keep replaying what I saw over and over in my head, like some kind of bad nightmare. He was naked, she was naked. They were under the covers together. I blink back the tears as they start to form again. He obviously knows that I saw them, given that he phoned not long after I left. Sarah probably told him.

I wonder what he said, what excuses he made. I focus my attention back on the radio and concentrate on driving.

At around eleven-thirty, with the kids now awake in the backseat complaining bitterly of hunger, I pull into a Hungry Jacks parking lot and we go inside to grab something to eat.

As the kids eat their food and I sip my coffee I pull my phone out to make a call to Alice.

I dial the number and she answers on the fourth ring.

"_Hello?"_

"_Hey Alice, its Elle" I say._

"_Elle, are you alright? We've been so worried. Where are you?"_

"_I'm at Port Macquarie. We just stopped to grab some lunch and I thought I'd better check in with you."_

"_Where are you going? Are you alright?"_

"_I'm okay I guess. I'm heading to Terry's house on the Gold coast."_

"_Your brother? Listen, Elle, I've spoken to Andy and he told me what happened. He came here asking for you just after you left. He told me nothing happened with him and Julie, just so you know."_

"_Do you believe him?" I ask her._

"_Yes, I do. I saw Julie leaving with Shannon and he was pissed at her. She was crying her eyes out so he'd obviously given her and ear-full. Bradie told me that Sarah ripped it into her as well. Apparently she crawled into Andy's bed after he was asleep and took her shirt off, but that was all. She was still fully dressed from the waist down apparently."_

_I take a moment to let the news sink in. _

"_Elle? Are you still there?"_

"_Yeah Alice, I'm here. So nothing happened then?" I ask her._

"_No. Nothing. Andy's out at the moment driving around looking for you. He's so worried about you. Call him please. Just let him know you're okay."_

"_I might later on. I really just need some time to myself at the moment though."_

"_Well, is it alright if I call him? Just to let him know you're okay?" she asks me._

"_Yeah, please Alice, that'd be great if you could. I just don't think I can speak to him yet. I'll be home on Wednesday probably but I'll get in touch with him soon. I've got to get going though. I want to get there before nightfall."_

"_Alright Elle, drive carefully and call me if you need me okay?"_

"_I will. Thanks Alice, for everything" I tell her and hang up._

The kids have finished their lunch and I tell them they have five minutes on the playground before we're leaving. They dart out the door and I pick my phone up again, contemplating whether or not to text Andy.

I put it back on the table and decide to wait until I get to Terry's place. I finish my burger off and throw the wrappers in the bin before grabbing my coffee and going in search of the kids.

I sit at an outside table and wait for them to finish up before we head to the car and hit the road again.

With such a long drive ahead of us I start a game of eye-spy, modified so that the kids can play too. We use colours instead of letters and pretty soon we are playing a rather competitive game.

We go through all of our Good Charlotte CD's as well as Paramore. When Max asks me to put Stack is the new Black on I hesitate.

Reluctantly I put the CD on and we are soon jumping around listening to Princess, the one song guaranteed to lift my mood every time. When it gets to Back of My Head I skip past it, ignoring the protests from the kids.

I distract them by pointing out that we never finished the game of eye-spy and we start with that again.

By the time we arrive at Terry's house I'm praying for a bit of quiet time. I ask Terry if he can take the kids out to grab some take away for dinner so I can have a bit of a break.

The kids jump in Terry's car and they leave in search of dinner.

I sit down on the bed in the spare room and allow myself to let down the façade I've been holding onto all day. I lay back and throw an arm over my eyes and concentrate on the darkness.

I should have trusted Andy not to do anything. I jumped to the wrong conclusion immediately but in all fairness, I'm pretty sure anyone would have done the same thing.

I'm angrier at myself more than anything though. I shouldn't have run away, I should have stayed and talked to him, just like I made him promise me the last time we had a fight. I'm being such a coward and hiding from this and I'm so ashamed of my behaviour and my reaction.

I feel quite bad for him now. What a horrible birthday this must be for him. Waking up, next to some psycho woman who's half naked, finding out that his girlfriend saw them, got the wrong idea and ran away, he must be feeling like shit.

I really should text him and let him know I'm okay. I pull my phone out and type a message out to him, letting him know where I am. I have no doubt that Alice already told him but I figure I should mention it too. I should put him at ease really so I let him know that I'm aware of what happened.

I push the send button and put the phone in my pocket as I stand and go in search of a drink.

As I reach for a glass in the cupboard my phone buzzes and I pull it out.

_Happy you're okay. I miss you. Please come back to me soon. X_

My heart contracts and tightens as I feel guilt wash over me. That last message I sent was pretty 'sterile' in comparison to this one.

I put some ice into my glass and find a bottle of Rum and pour some in. I can't find any diet Coke but lemonade will do for the moment as I add it to my glass. Swirling it around the ice I take a sip and pick up my phone again.

_Happy Birthday. I miss you too. _

I push the send button and chastise myself for not saying that before. I really do want to call him but I fear that if I hear his beautiful voice, I'm going to fall apart at the seams. It would be a stupid thing to do at this point. I convince myself that this little break apart is for the best at the moment.

I really should use this time to decide if it really is a good idea to ask him to move in with me. Maybe I was being hasty when I thought of giving him a set of keys and sharing my bed permanently with him. But it really did feel like the right thing to do. It still does if I'm honest with myself. Learning to trust again is a hard thing to go through, knowing that you have to let go of all your past misconceptions and put your full belief in someone else to do the right thing by you.

I hear the front door open and the kids sing out to me.

"I'm in the kitchen" I reply and I hear them race in.

"We've got Chinese food" Lilly tells me with a grin.

"That sounds perfect. I am little sick of Hungry Jacks and McDonalds at the moment" I tell her.

"I see you found the Rum" Terry says as he walks in.

"Yeah, sorry, I would have asked if you were here. Was looking for some Scotch though, you don't have any?" I ask him.

"Nope, haven't since the last time you visited and left half a bottle here."

"Well I guess this will do for tonight" I say and take another sip before putting the glass down and getting some plates organised for dinner.

We eat and chat at the table, Terry is trying to keep my mind on everything else besides the real reason I'm here. We talk about taking the kids to Dreamworld tomorrow and Terry tells me he has the day off anyhow.

When the dishes are done, I look up the website on my laptop and find out the information I need. I plug Terry's printer in and print out our tickets that I just purchased.

We sit on the lounge together and watch the Simpsons and Futurama before I tell the kids it's time for bed.

I get them settled in the double bed and say goodnight to them. When I walk back out to the kitchen Terry is waiting for me with two fresh drinks in hand.

"Here you go, come sit and tell me what the fuck is going on."

"Am I really that transparent?" I ask him.

"Well, you don't normally visit me unless shit has hit the fan" he says and I smile at him then follow him to the lounge.

"So, what happened then?" he says.

I take a mouthful of my drink and decide to open up to him and tell him everything, including my decision to ask Andy to move in with me.

When I've finished spilling my guts he takes a mouthful of his drink and sits back on the lounge looking at me.

"What?" I ask him.

"You should have seen your facial expressions when you were telling me all of that. You went from giddy to angry to hurt to happy all in a matter of minutes. You love him, it's that simple. If you love him then be with him. But you need to know that he is nothing like Dean. You need to remember that all the time okay? Dean was a controlling manipulative asshole and Andy isn't. This is the first time in years I've seen you genuinely smile. Not that fake one that you always used to show me whenever I saw you, but that beautiful one that lights up your eyes."

I look at my drink and wonder how to respond to that. I take a mouthful and when I've swallowed I say "That's because I am happy, for the first time in what feels like forever."

"Well, what are you doing here then?" he asks me.

"I ran. I got scared and I ran. It was really stupid. I ruined his birthday, dragged the kids out of bed and ran."

"It's his birthday today? Oh shit. Have you spoken to him?"

"I sent him a couple of text messages."

"Oh Elle, you have to ring him. He's probably waiting for you to call."

I take another drink. "I'm scared I'll lose it though. I feel so bad that I didn't trust him, that I didn't stay and sort it out. As soon as he answers the phone I'm going to start crying, I just know it."

"Well, maybe you need to do that? Just ring him okay. I'm going to bed, I had an early start and I'm knackered" Terry says, standing and kissing the top of my head. "Night little sis" he says as he goes to the kitchen to put his glass in the sink.

"Night" I reply as I stay on the couch and drain my glass. I stand and go and make another drink, relying on the alcohol for liquid courage.

Grabbing my phone and drink, I throw a jumper on and head out the backyard to call Andy. It's only ten-thirty so he'll still be up.

It rings twice before he answers. Hearing his voice both eases my fears and increases my guilt in one go.

"_Hey, it's me" I say._

"_Hey, how are you? I've been worried about you." he asks me. What a loaded question that is._

"_I'm okay. Happy Birthday" I say to him._

"_Thanks. I wish you were here for it though."_

'_BAM!' goes the guilt. "I'm sorry. I should be there, I know."_

"_Alice said she told you what happened. You have to believe me, I didn't touch that bitch."_

"_I know and I believe you. Andy I'm so sorry for not trusting you. You have to understand though that it looked pretty bad."_

"_Yeah, I understand that, but please Elle, please know that I would never do that to you. Ever."_

_I take a deep breath. "I know and I'm sorry for running away like that. Especially after I asked you never to do that to me not long ago, and here I go, just making bad assumptions and running straight away. I'm sorry I didn't even give you a chance. I just got spooked and my past crept up on me and I did what I always did." I pause for a breath and realise I'm crying._

"_Hey, it's okay. I understand why you ran. I do, I just want you back here though."_

"_I know. I'll be coming home either tomorrow night or Wednesday morning. Terry and I are taking the kids to Dreamworld tomorrow."_

"_They'll love that I'm sure."_

_I can hear him breathing as I wipe the tears from my face._

"_Are you okay?" he asks me._

"_Yeah, I will be. I just miss you. I feel like a complete dick for leaving like that, especially on your birthday. I wish I was there now."_

"_I wish you were too. But it's okay, you did what you had to. I'll see you soon though."_

"_Yeah, I'd better get some sleep."_

"_Okay, go rest, enjoy your day tomorrow and just let me know you're okay" he says._

"_I will. I love you" I tell him._

"_I love you too. Goodnight gorgeous" he says._

"_Goodnight" I say as I hang up the phone._

I admit, I feel better now that I've spoken to him. I finish my drink and head inside to my temporary bed on the couch. I grab the blanket and pillow that Terry left out for me and lay down, hoping the Rum will put me in a comfortable slumber.

Tuesday is spent at Dreamworld going from ride to ride with the kids. We have such a great time and Terry and the kids enjoy it immensely. We end up with four different photos taken on the rides and they are each as funny as the next.

By the time we make it back to Terry's house through the traffic it's already after six and I'm way too tired to even contemplate driving the 10 hours home. I send Andy a quick text telling him I won't be leaving until the morning and I'll call him when I'm on my way.

We have toasted sandwiches for dinner and we are all sound asleep by eight o'clock. I've set my alarm on my phone for four am and when it goes off I feel like I've only just gone to sleep.

I get up and boil the jug for a cup of coffee before I start to gather all of our things for the drive home. I figure if I can get away by five we should be home by around three this afternoon, depending on the traffic.

I sit at the kitchen table and finish my coffee before going and waking the kids. I get them both dressed and then into the car. I leave a note for Terry to thank him along with two of the photos from Dreamworld and lock the front door behind me before heading off home.

The kids fall back asleep straight away and I have the radio playing softly to keep me company. When I hit the Pacific Highway I set the cruise control and settle in for the long drive ahead.

The kids wake at about seven-thirty and we find a truck-stop on the highway to stop and stretch our legs and grab something to eat.

After we've all visited the toilet we hope back in the car and continue on our way. My phone rings at around ten and it's Alice.

"_Hey Alice how are you?" I ask her._

"_I'm fine Elle, how are you doing?" _

"_I'm okay, we're on our way home actually, about half way there."_

"_Great, did you speak to Andy at all?" _

"_Yeah, I ended up calling him on Monday night and we talked for a bit. Everything is sorted I think."_

"_Oh good. I'm glad to hear that. So you'll be home tonight then?" _

"_Yeah, I think we should get in around four at this stage. Why's that?" I ask her._

"_Oh no reason, just thought I'd check. I might give you a call but now that I think of it, probably best to wait until tomorrow. Give you some time to catch up with that man of yours."_

"_Yeah, I'll definitely come by and see you tomorrow anyhow. I've got to go and see Sandra and get some paperwork sorted so I'll pop in. Are you at work at the moment?"_

"_Yeah, just got here and about to start my shift."_

"_Okay, well I'll let you get on with it then" I say to her._

"_Right, I'll talk to you tomorrow, drive carefully."_

"_I will, see you Alice."_

I push the end call button and concentrate on the road again. The trip home is a slow and tedious one but when we get off the pacific highway I almost sigh in relief. I grab my phone and dial Andy's number.

"_Hello" he says._

"_Hey, it's me; we just got off the pacific motorway so we'll be about fifteen minutes away okay?"_

"_I can't wait, see you then beautiful" he says._

"_Bye."_

I throw my phone on the seat next to me and glance in the rear-view mirror at the kids. They've both fallen asleep again and I decide not to wake them until we're home.

When I pull into my driveway I can see Andy on the front step waiting for me. His head flips up as he hears my car and he stands and comes over to me, opening my car door as I step out and wrap my arms around him.

He holds me tight before we pull apart, just enough so that we can share a kiss. He brings his right arm around from behind me and holds out a single white lily.

"I've missed you" he says with a smile.

I take the flower from him before kissing him again.

"I missed you too, more than you know" I tell him.

When we do eventually break apart he helps me wake the kids and get our luggage.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three

Thursday morning I wake in Andy's arms and say a silent thank you to the powers that be. I'm warm as toast and so comfortable cocooned here in bed that I really don't want to move at all. Looking at the clock I see it's already seven-thirty and I need to get up and start my day.

I glance behind me at Andy's face and see that he's out cold. His eyes aren't even twitching, which is usually a sure sign that he's really asleep. I delicately lift his hand off my waist and slide forward before placing his hand on my pillow instead. He rouses slightly but then goes back to sleep almost immediately.

I slide out from under the covers and quickly walk to the ensuite to have a shower. When I'm finished and dressed I close the bedroom door behind me and walk out to the lounge to say good morning to the twins, who are already up and watching cartoons.

"What would you like for breakfast?" I ask them.

"French toast" Max replies and Lilly nods in agreement.

"Okay, I'll see what I can do" I tell them before heading into the kitchen to boil the kettle. I go to the laundry and put a load of washing on while I wait. When I open the laundry cupboard I see the present that I bought for Andy for his birthday.

I take it down off the shelf and carry it back to the kitchen with me. I debate on whether or not to wake him just yet and decide against it. Let him sleep, I have no idea what he did yesterday but he's obviously tired. We didn't go to bed that late last night; I think it was even before eleven.

I get started on the French toast and make myself a coffee while I'm at it. We sit at the table and eat our breakfast together. I ask the kids what they want to do today and they shrug and say "I don't know." I figure I'll sort that out a little later. When we're finished I do the dishes then hang out the first load of washing. When I come back inside I hear the shower going and know that Andy is up.

I grab the present off the bench and go into the bedroom and sit on the bed to wait for him to come out. When he emerges he's only wrapped in a towel and his hair is dripping water on his chest.

I smile and say "good morning."

"Hey gorgeous" he says as he leans over and gives me a kiss before standing and pulling his towel off and drying his hair.

I watch his naked butt as he walks back into the ensuite to hang up his towel before returning and grabbing his clothes from the floor.

"So I wanted to give you something" I say to him, catching his attention.

He stands and pulls his jeans on, sans jocks, and does the fly up. "Okay, what is it?" he says, reaching for his t-shirt.

"Well, it's your birthday present that I kind of didn't get around to giving you before I bolted" I say.

He stops and throws his shirt back to the floor and says "Why am I getting dressed then?"

"No, not that present" I say. I hold the wrapped box out to him and say "this one."

He takes it from my outstretched hand and sits next to me. "You really bought me something?"

"Of course I did. I'm just sorry that I didn't get the chance to give it to you on your actual birthday."

He leans in and kisses me before saying "you're here now. That's all that's important."

I smile and say "open it."

He returns his attention back to the present and rips the paper off to reveal the box. He glances at me then opens the lid to reveal the key ring with the keys.

He picks it up and pulls it from the box before turning it over and reading the inscription. He turns to look at me and leans in and kisses me gently. "Thank you so much, it's beautiful."

"Well, you wrote the words, I just attached them to the house keys. I wanted to ask you if would you move in with us?" I nervously say in an almost whisper.

"Really? Are you serious? You want me to live with you guys?" he says with raised eyebrows. I can't really tell if he's happy or shocked so I just nod and glance away again.

He launches himself at me and I fall backwards on the bed. Andy is peppering my face with kisses and is saying "yes" over and over again.

I wrap my arms around him and hug him tight.

"Can I move in today?" he asks me when he pulls his head back to look at my face. I nod in reply which earns me another kiss.

He rolls off me and jumps back up and grabs his shirt. "Do the kids know about this?" he asks.

"I haven't officially told them that I was asking you but they won't be surprised really."

"Can we tell them now?" he asks with a grin on his face.

"Yeah, sure, if you want to. Put a shirt on though" I say and smile.

He pulls his Hymynameis shirt on over his head and we walk out to the lounge room. "Hey kids" Andy says as he sits down next to Max.

I sit on the arm of the couch next to Lilly. "So we just wanted to run something past you guys, how would you feel if Andy moved in with us?" I ask them both.

"Really?" says Lilly. "Is Bradie moving in too?" she asks me.

"Um, no sweetie he'll be living at home still with his mum and dad" I tell her, trying not to crack a smile.

I see Max roll his eyes and then he says "that's fine with me mum."

"So you're both okay with me living with you all?" Andy asks and both of the twins nod and focus their attention back on the TV.

I stand and nod towards the kitchen with my head at Andy. He nods and gets up and follows me in while I flick the kettle on.

"Well that was easier than I thought" he says as he leans against the bench.

"They're pretty good kids, they know I love you so I didn't see it as being a drama" I say. "We've already had breakfast but do you want anything to eat?" I ask him.

"No thanks I'm good. So what are you doing today?" he asks me.

"Well I have to go into work and grab some papers from Sandra, and I did tell Alice I'd catch up with her today and say hello. Then I'd better do some catching up on bookwork for the store. What are you going to be doing?" I ask him.

"Well, since you're going to be busy I might see if the kids want to help me move some stuff and maybe take them to the park with Chris and Bradie later on, if that's okay with you."

"Yeah, that's fine. I was going to take them with my but if you want to have them, then that's fine with me. I shouldn't be too long I would think. Probably only an hour out and depending on the paperwork, I should be done by two I think."

"Alright well I might head next door now and get some stuff sorted. Like telling Mum and Dad that I'm moving out" he says and I smile at him. "They already know don't they?" he asks me.

"Yeah, they do. I asked them about it like a week ago to make sure they were okay with it."

"Really? You felt the need to ask my parent's permission if you could move me into your home to have your wicked way with me at your convenience?" he says, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"Well, I didn't actually ask them like that smart-ass" I reply.

He wraps his arms around me and kisses the top of my head. "Well, it would have been funnier if you did."

"Yeah, I bet."

"Well, I might go ask the kids if they want to come and help me for awhile then" he says and releases me to walk to the lounge room. I follow him in and stand behind the couch. When he asks them they both look to me and Max asks me what I'm doing. I tell them that I have some chores to do and they both agree to help Andy.

They jump up and all three of them kiss me goodbye before going out the front door. I can see the key chain in Andy's back pocket as he closes the door behind him. I go and brush my teeth, thankful that all went well and that he agreed to move in with us.

I run the brush through my hair and then grab my keys, bag and phone from the bench before locking the front door behind me and driving to the shop.

When I walk in Sandra greets me with a hug and a "happy Easter."

It seems like long ago but really, it was only four days. She asks me about Andy's birthday party and how his birthday went. I balk at telling her and she instantly knows that something happened before instructing me to go across the road and grab some coffee for us so we can gossip together.

I shake my head at her and let her know I won't be long before going over to see Alice at the deli. I greet her as I walk in and she smiles and waves at me whilst she finishes serving the customer at the counter. When she's done I sneak around the counter and give her a hug and whisper 'thankyou' in her ear.

She smiles at me when I release her and says "So how is it all going anyhow?"

"It's much better. Sadly, I over reacted and did the wrong thing. But we've corrected that now."

"Everything better now?" she says.

"Yeah, definitely. I asked him to move in with me this morning" I tell her with a grin.

"Really? Oh wow! I assume he said yes then."

"Yeah, he's over at his house at the moment with the kids, getting some stuff together."

"So you're going to domesticate him are you?" she says with a laugh.

"Yeah, probably won't be happening" I reply with an eye-roll. "Hey while I'm here, can I get two coffees to go and a couple of slices of the mud cake too?"

"Yeah sure, are you gossiping with Sandra again?" she asks me, well aware of Sandra's standard snack of mud cake.

"Yeah, I have a bit of explaining to do about the weekend. Plus I have to get some paperwork too while I'm there. Oh hey, before I forget, do you want to come for dinner on Saturday night? I'm going to ask Bradie as well. I thought it might be nice to just hang out at home."

"Sounds great, I'll have to double check but I think I'm free. I'll text you and let you know for sure tonight okay?" she replies.

Alice hands me the two coffees and the mud cake in a little bag and I hand her a twenty dollar bill and tell her to keep the change. She laughs at me and says she'll add it to my account.

With a promise to talk to her later on, I head back across the road to the shop so I can catch up with Sandra.

An hour later she finally lets me go home with a folder full of receipts. It seems that she did some stocking of shelves over Easter and re-stocked a lot of the tourist gifts. What I don't get done today though can wait until tomorrow.

When I pull into the driveway, I notice the front door open and walk inside to find Andy and the kids playing Twister in the lounge room.

"I thought you were going to move some things?" I ask him with a smile, his ass in the air and his arms crossed in different directions.

"I'm winning Mum" says Lilly with a smile.

"I might have gotten distracted" Andy replies, turning his head to look at me.

Max spins the spinner and calls out "Left hand red." In a scuttle of movement I watch as Andy collapses to the ground with Max landing on top of him.

I laugh and walk into the kitchen to put the folder down on the bench and to look for some lunch.

I hear Andy walk in behind me and I smile his way. "Don't worry about lunch; Bradie's going to bring over some fish and chips when he gets back from the shops. I figured we could take them to the park with us and have our lunch there."

"Oh okay then. I have a bit of work to do though" I tell him and he wraps his arms around my waist and draws me near.

"I promise we won't be long at the park, and then you can do your work, okay?"

"Alright then. I'll have my car anyhow, so I can come home and start while you guys play for a while I guess" I tell him. "So did you get anything at all moved in?" I ask.

"Yeah, I grabbed some clothes and my toiletries and my laptop. I didn't know where to put anything though so it's just sitting on the bed for now."

"I'll have to clear some room in my cupboard for you later on" I tell him before kissing him and wriggling out of his grip.

"Where are you going?" he says as I walk away from him and into the bedroom.

"I'm just going to grab a jacket in case it's cool at the park" I say over my shoulder to him.

"You're going to snoop aren't you?" he says, following me to the bedroom.

"Not at all" I say with a grin.

I walk in to find my bed completely covered in crap. There are clothes, books, magazines, bags and heaps more all over my doona.

I turn and look at Andy. He looks a bit sheepish as I turn back and study the mess.

Shaking my head I walk into my wardrobe and start to move some boxes to the top shelf. I shuffle all of my hanging clothes around and find some spare coat hangers which I take back out and silently hand to Andy before going back to my cupboard again.

I find a jacket and tie it around my waist, no I wasn't kidding about the jacket.

When I come back out I start to fold his jeans and underwear up while he puts his shirts on hangers.

"Thanks for helping me" he says and leans over to kiss my cheek.

"It's okay. I guess you can't be expected to be neat and tidy, just because you move in with someone."

"I promise I'm going to try though. I just need you to show me where I can put all this stuff" he says. I take him in to the wardrobe and point out a few spaces that he can use to store his things.

"Maybe we should get another set of drawers so you have more room?" I say aloud.

"Leave that to me, I'll go and have a look this afternoon okay? The kids can come and help me pick something out."

I nod as I hear Bradie sing out "Honey I'm home" in his best Ricky Ricardo impersonation.

"We're in the bedroom" I sing out to him.

"And we're busy too" Andy adds with a grin.

I playfully slap him on the arm and he says "what? We are busy."

I shake my head as I hear Bradie sing out "too much information thank you."

I put the socks that I was folding down on the bed and walk out to see Bradie with Andy trailing behind me.

"We were just sorting out all the clothes he dumped on the bed" I say to Bradie.

"Well, I've got lunch, are we ready to go?" he says.

"Yeah, sure but where's Chris though?" I say.

"He's having a nap at the moment Mum said so it's just us."

"Okay. Well we'll still take two cars anyhow so I can come home and do some work" I reply.

"I'll take mine" Andy says and Bradie agrees to go with Andy.

I grab my bag and phone and keys and we all file out to the cars. "I'll follow you" I sing out to Andy as he unlocks his and he nods in reply.

We drive to the park and find our table that we usually sit at. The kids eat up and we chat about pointless things and just generally enjoy ourselves. When we're nearing the end of the food a couple of girls wander up and ask the guys for autographs. They sign the pieces of paper the girls hand them and chat briefly whilst I take the kids over to the drinking fountain.

When we come back the girls are gone and Andy slides over so I can sit next to him. Bradie stands and asks the kids if they want to go on the swings. They jump up and run off with Bradie giving me a little wave. I mouth "thank you" to him and he smiles and goes to the swing set.

"So, those girls wanted to know if you were my sister" Andy says to me.

"Really? What did you say?" I ask him.

"That I hoped you weren't since I'm sleeping with you."

"Oh, come on. What did you really say?" I reply.

"That's what I said! Ask Bradie if you want."

Shaking my head I say "Wow, how'd they take it?"

"I don't know and I don't care" he says before kissing me.

Looking at my watch I see it's already after two. "I should get going and get some work done whilst the house is quiet and the time disappears again."

"I know. We might stay here for a bit and then go in search of some furniture for my stuff."

"Alright, well, call me if you need me and I'll see you when you get home" I say standing up and leaning in to give him a kiss.

"Hey, take my car home, that way I won't have to move the car seats over" Andy says, handing me the keys. I take them and dig mine out of my pocket as well before handing them over.

"Alright, I'll see you at home then" I say and give him one last kiss.

"Bye kids, see you at home" I sing out to the twins and all three of them wave to me.

I jump in Andy's car and head back home to start on some catching up.

Just before five o'clock I hear my car pull into the driveway and the doors open. I have only just packed away my laptop and was prepping some vegetables for dinner.

The front door opens and the twins come bursting in. "Hey kids, how was your afternoon" I call out to them.

"It was great" they reply. "Andy bought us both an ice-cream because we were so well behaved" Lilly says.

I look up and see Andy's back come through the front door, with a set of drawers in his arms and Bradie on the other side helping.

"Hey gorgeous" he sings out to me and I grab a tea towel and wipe my hands as I walk over to where they've stopped.

I kiss his cheek and smile at Bradie. "I see you found some furniture" I say as I look at the drawers.

"Yeah, I had to try and remember what the ones in your room looked like, but thankfully the kids helped me out with that" Andy says.

"They said you bought them ice-cream" I say with a smile.

"Hey, you weren't supposed to tell your mum that" he says in mock anger.

They don't even hear him as they focus on the TV.

"Come on Bradie, let's get this in the bedroom so you can go home. But I'm not. I'm staying" Andy says in a 'nicky-nicky-narna' sing song voice.

Bradie rolls his eyes and picks up his end of the drawers as I walk ahead to the bedroom to look for a place to put them. When they've finished I walk Bradie out with Andy and say goodbye to him at the front door before heading back to the kitchen to finish dinner.

Andy sits with the kids before realising that everyone needs to be bathed before dinner. He gets up and helps them find their pyjamas whilst I cook.

By the time we sit at the table to eat it is six-thirty and everything feels like domestic bliss. My inner voice notices that everything is going fine for a change and starts to wonder if it will all fall apart again. Time will tell.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter four

When I was with Dean, in the last few years anyhow, I used to read those harlequin romance novels, almost daily. I used to live with the fantasy that life could actually be that good. That a tall handsome man would sweep me off my feet, whisk me away to his mansion with his maids and butlers and have babies and live happily ever after.

Never in those novels did they mention the controlling self-absorbed ex-husband that ruined your life and took away your self-worth.

Nor the saviour musician boyfriend that moves in and makes more mess than your children. Not to mention, the amount of farting that occurs, the fact he can't remember to put a toilet seat down and to actually aim for the bowl. But he does something that Dean never did really. He loves me and lets me be me. So all those little faults, well they add up to nothing when I look at the bigger picture.

It's three am and he's only just gone to sleep about half an hour ago. He really is nocturnal. When he settled in behind me in bed he woke me up a little bit but I lay still and kept my breathing steady so he would think I was still asleep. The last time he woke me getting into bed he felt so very guilty that he spent a good three quarters of an hour apologising, not realising that he was keeping me awake by doing it.

I look at him over my shoulder and study the features of his face. His eyelashes are unnaturally long and his nose is straight. The piercing in his lip is shining a little in the light that's filtering in through the window from the moon. His mouth is open and his lips look a little dry. His hair is everywhere, almost like he's been running his hand through it and it's now sitting up.

He sleeps like the dead. Hardly ever stirs and when he falls asleep, he's out for five hours minimum.

I start remembering those damn harlequin romances again and think of how unrealistic it was of me to think that life would be like that. Mentally kicking myself I close my eyes and try to get some sleep, knowing that I have work in the morning.

At just after four am I finally doze off, only to be woken by the alarm at six-thirty. I quickly reach over and turn it off before looking back at Andy to see if he's moved.

He's still in the same position and hasn't moved an inch. Like I said, he sleeps like the dead. I slide out of bed and jump in the shower quickly before getting dressed and going out to see if the kids are up.

They are both in front of the TV and I say good morning to them both. Andy had promised me to watch them today whilst I'm at work but since I know he didn't get to bed until early this morning I've decided to ask if Sarah can watch them for me until he gets up. I also want to ask her and Tom if they want to come for dinner tomorrow night as well.

I grab my phone and turn it on while flicking the kettle on for a coffee. When it connects to the network I dial the neighbour's number, knowing that they'll be awake by now. Bradie answers on the third ring.

"_Hello?"_

"_Morning Bradie, its Elle."_

"_Morning Elle, how are you?"_

"_I'm well thanks, is Sarah around at all?"_

"_I think she's in the shower. What's up?" he asks me._

"_I was just going to ask her if she could watch the kids for me this morning until Andy gets up. I have to go to work at nine and I know he didn't get to bed until late last night."_

"_Just drop them over, I'll be here until lunch time at least" Bradie says._

"_Ok great, thank you so much for that. I'll be over around eight-thirty okay?"_

"_No worries Elle see you then."_

"_Bye Bradie" I say as I hang up._

I make a note on the shopping list nearby to ring Telstra today and see about getting a land line on at home. I also need to ring the real estate and find out what's happening with the offer I put in on the house.

I make a few notes before tearing the paper off and putting it in my back pocket. I pour my coffee and start on breakfast for the kids and I.

Just before eight-thirty I write a note for Andy to let him know what's going on and place it on the pillow next to him.

_Good morning my sweet._

_You look too comfy and cuddly to wake so I've taken the kids next door to your Mum's place. I think Bradie is going to watch them until you come get them. Have fun moving today._

_Love you._

_Elle x_

I lean over and gently kiss his head before closing the bedroom door behind me and herding the kids to Tom and Sarah's house for the morning.

When I get to their door I knock and wait. Bradie answers it and ushers us into the kitchen where Sarah is giving Chris his breakfast.

"Morning Elle, morning kids" she says to us and we return her greeting.

"Hey Sarah, hello Christopher" I say bending over and kissing the top of his head.

"Bradie said he's going to watch the kids for me this morning until Andy is up. Is that okay with you?" I ask her.

"Sure, that's fine. If it was me though, I'd make Andy get out of bed. Especially if he agreed to do it" Sarah says.

"Oh, well, I probably would normally but he didn't get to bed until around two thirty so he'd be pretty tired."

"He needs to sort his sleep problems out. The way he's up all night most nights worries me" Sarah says.

"I'm sure he will one day" I reply and I see Bradie shaking his head out the corner of my eye.

"Oh, whilst you're both here actually, I wanted to ask if you would come to our house for dinner tomorrow night? I've already asked Alice and I'm pretty sure she's coming" I say.

"Well I'll check with Tom but I'm pretty sure we're free" Sarah says.

"Yeah, I'll be there" Bradie replies.

"Okay, well just let me know for sure Sarah. I have to run or I'm going to be late. Give Mum a kiss" I say to the kids and they both hug and kiss me before I stand up and wave goodbye to everyone.

I drive into work and greet Sandra as I walk into the office just before nine.

I'm head down and absorbed in my work when my phone buzzes a little after eleven o'clock.

_You should have woken me! I'm on my way next door to get the twins now. X_

I quickly reply with:

_You looked tired and I didn't want to disturb you. See you this afternoon. X_

I go back to my bookwork and when lunch time rocks around I'm ravenous. I stand and stretch before letting Sandra know I'm going over the road to grab something to eat.

Alice looks up as I walk in and smiles at me over the sea of heads in the deli. She holds up my sandwich and I come around to the side of the counter to give her some money.

"So Bradie and I are coming tomorrow night, just so you know. I was just speaking with him a moment ago."

"Oh great, well I'll see you there then" I say and head out the front to sit down, leaving Alice to her rush-hour.

I finish my sandwich and head back to work, eager to be done for the day. At three o'clock Sandra knocks on the office door as she comes in and I look up from my laptop.

"Hey, are you working overtime today?" she says with a smile.

"What?" I glance at the clock on my screen and see that I'm done for the day. "Oh wow, I must have been really concentrating hard!"

"Get your stuff together and get out of here" she says with a laugh. I nod my head and shut down my laptop as I gather together the papers I'll need for next week. When I'm done I grab my bag and head out of the shop, saying goodbye to Sandra on the way.

I spend the drive home singing along to the Heroes for Hire CD Andy gave me last week and before I know it I'm pulling into the driveway. Andy has his car parked there too now I notice. I wonder if he's done any more moving today.

I open the front door and sing out "Honey, I'm home" but receive no reply. The front door was unlocked and his car is here so I'm assuming they are around here somewhere.

I put my bag and laptop on the bench and turn to go check the kid's bedrooms but find no one. I head out the backyard and still can't find anyone, although at least someone has taken the washing in for me.

I check the rest of the house and when I open the bedroom door I hear "SURPRISE!" I jump back and hold my hand to my chest willing my heartbeat to slow back down again.

On the bed are Andy and the kids and there are balloons everywhere and even streamers.

"What's going on?" I ask with a grin.

"We wanted to surprise you with a couple of presents" Andy says, standing and walking forward to give me a kiss.

"Thanks, but what's the occasion?" I ask him.

"No occasion really, we just wanted to let you know that we all love you very much."

"Awww, thankyou, that is so very sweet" I say as the kids come over and hug me too.

"Come and sit on the bed Mummy" Lilly says, leading me over.

I sit down and a present is immediately placed in my lap by Max.

"I gave the kids a little bit of money each and they both picked out something for you that they thought you'd like" Andy says.

"Andy, you don't have to do this you know" I say to him.

"I know babe but we all just wanted to let you know how much we appreciate you and that we love you."

"You guys are so sweet" I say as Max gets impatient and hands me the present to open.

I unwrap the paper and there is a plaque in my hands. It reads 'if Mother's were flowers, I'd pick you'.

"Oh sweetie, thank you, that is beautiful" I say to Max before hugging him tight to my chest.

"Here Mummy" Lilly says as she hands me a small gift bag. I say thank you as I take it from her and open it. Inside is a magnet that says 'Mothers hold their children's hands for a short while, but their hearts forever'.

"That is gorgeous Lilly, thank you so much" I say as I kiss her head and one-arm hug her.

"Okay, my turn" Andy says and puts and equally small gift bag in my lap.

"You too? Wow, you guys had fun today" I say laughing as I pick the bag up. "Did you actually move anymore stuff in?" I ask him.

"Yeah, we did this morning but then we got bored with that so we went shopping instead" he says with a grin.

I just shake my head in mock-exasperation at him and open up the bag on my lap. Inside is a little black pouch and I raise my head and look at him with my eyebrows raised.

"Just open it" he says, smiling.

"Yeah Mum, open it" says Max.

I undo the string around the top of the pouch and empty the contents into my hand. It's a beautiful gold anklet with a little treble clef charm on it.

I look back up at Andy and smile and say "Oh my God Andy, this is beautiful. Thank you so much." I lean forward and give him a kiss before hugging him tight.

When I release him and sit back on the bed he takes it from my hand and puts it on my ankle.

"I helped Andy pick it" says Max beside me.

"Well I think you all did such a wonderful job. I feel so special right now guys thank you" I say as I wipe a stray tear away.

"You're very welcome" Andy says standing up and holding his hand out to me.

"I think I should go and put this beautiful magnet on the fridge and then find a spot for the plaque." We all file out of the bedroom and to the kitchen. I can't believe Andy bought me an anklet. It is so very beautiful and I can't help but stare at it.

"So how was work then?" he asks me.

"Who cares?" I say as I reach over and pull his face to mine to kiss him again. "This was such a beautiful surprise. Thank you."

I put my magnet on the fridge and turn to the kids and say "Lets go out in the back yard and find a spot for the plaque."

We all go outside and when Max suggests a spot in the vegetable garden I don't disagree. The kids go back inside to watch TV whilst Andy and I sit down at the outdoor table and have a beer each.

"Bradie tells me that he and Alice are coming to dinner tomorrow night as well as my parents" Andy says.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask you about that" I say sheepishly.

"Why?" says Andy.

"I didn't want you to get angry with me for inviting them without asking you first."

"What? Why would I get angry over that? It's fine with me gorgeous. I was going to ask you if you need some help, that's all. You really thought I'd be angry about that?" he says.

"Well, yeah, I thought I should probably have asked you first."

"Babe, don't be silly, this is your house, your life, and you can do what you like. You don't need to ask my permission for anything. Okay?" he says to me.

"Yeah, okay. I'm sorry; I guess old habits die hard."

"Did you seriously have to ask about shit like that before?" he asks me.

I nod and I feel him move towards me and take my hand in his.

"Don't ever think that I'm anything like he was. I promise you, I won't treat you like that. I love the fact that you are you, that you have raised these beautiful kids, that you have a job, a car, you've made a home here. I'm proud to tell people that you're my girlfriend and you should be proud of what you've achieved."

"Thank you. What you just said then was so sweet. But it also reminded me that I had something else to tell you. Actually, it's something quite important too."

"Okay, tell me" he says leaning back.

"Well, when I signed the lease on this house originally the estate agent told me that it was also for sale and that I might have to let people come through the place who were interested in buying it."

"Oh okay. Is there someone coming through?" he asks me.

"Um, no not exactly. The house sold today."

"Oh no, what are we going to do then? Do we have to move? When does the owner take over?" he asks me.

I shake my head and smile at him. "No, we don't have to move."

"What? I don't understand, why not?" he says.

"Well, because I'm the new owner."

"Come again?" he says with a look of shock.

"I bought the house. I had money from my divorce settlement and I've been looking for somewhere permanent. What's better than right here?" I tell him.

"Holy shit! You just bought it? Congrats babe" he says, hugging me to him again.

"So you won't be moving anytime soon then?" he says.

"No, WE won't be moving anytime soon."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter five

Saturday I spend all day prepping food and making sure the house is spotless. Andy has taken the kids next door to get out for a while. Apparently I was driving him crazy with my cleanliness and obsessiveness.

At around five thirty Alice pulls up in the driveway and knocks on the front door.

"Hey Alice, thanks for coming"I say as I unlock the door and let her inside.

"Thanks for inviting me. Is Bradie not here yet then?" she says handing me a bottle of wine.

"Thank you for this. No he's not but I would imagine they'll all be here soon. Do you want a drink?" I ask her and she nods and follows me to the kitchen.

"So where are the kids and your new housemate then?" she says with a grin as I hand her a glass whilst I un-cork the wine.

"They're all next door. I kicked them out earlier when I was trying to clean up and get everything done. So he grabbed some clothes for the kids and said he'd get them ready at his parent's house so he wasn't in my way. I think I was secretly scaring him!"

Alice laughs and says cheers as she hold up her glass that is now filled with the wine she brought. I grab my glass too and we both sip.

"So how is everything going then? Is it all domesticated bliss yet?" she asks me with a grin.

"I have to tell you, he is so messy! I can't believe how untidy he is! I mean, the kids make their fair share of mess but seriously, he's worse than both of them put together!" I say to her.

We're still laughing about it when the front door opens and Andy walks in with both the kids followed by the rest of his family.

I put my glass down and welcome everyone whilst I offer them all a wine. When I pour the drinks out and we all have one each, I shoo them all into the lounge room so I can start dishing up the first course. Alice offers to help me and I accept readily.

Whilst we are working in the kitchen I ask her how things are with Bradie.

"I'm not sure to be honest" she replies.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Well, things have cooled off a bit over the last week or so. I'm not sure what it is to be honest. I'm starting to think that maybe he's more of a brother to me than a boyfriend. I'm pretty sure he feels like that too."

"Really? I thought you guys were like really into each other though."

"Well, we were, to begin with but then when we really got to know each other, I think we both realised that we are like brother and sister most of the time. I mean there's no spark or anything when we are together. We haven't even slept with each other since that one time at Port Macquarie for crying out loud."

"Wow, I can't believe you two aren't all over each other. You're like so suited to each other but."

"Yeah, I know, but I think he's more of a best friend than a boyfriend to me. You saw it yourself tonight, he walked in but we didn't hug or kiss or anything. The thing is, I'm not upset that we didn't either."

"Have you guys talked about this yet?" I ask her.

"No but I think it's on the cards. I might ask him if he wants to go for a drive after dinner if that's okay with you?" she says.

"Yeah, sure it is. I haven't actually planned past the meal at this stage" I say, grabbing a couple of plates to take to the dining table.

"Well, I think I might do that then" Alice says, grabbing some plates and following me out of the kitchen.

We put all the plates on the table and I call everyone in to start the meal.

Everything goes without a hitch and I'm complimented on my cooking abilities. Even Bradie asks to move in with us, which earns him a look of glee from Lilly but a devilish glare from Andy.

I clear the last of the plates from the table and take them to the sink to start the dishes. Alice comes and grabs a tea towel to help me and Andy wanders in too.

"Do you want some help babe?" he says.

"No thanks, I think we're good here."

"Alright then, I might go grab a beer. Do either of you want a drink?" he asks.

"No thanks Andy, I'm driving tonight" Alice replies.

"Not yet thanks, I will later though" I say to him and he goes out the back to the fridge before returning to the lounge room.

When Alice and I have finished we go back in and sit with everyone else.

After a little while Alice stands and thanks me for a lovely evening. Bradie stands too and says he's going to walk her out.

I wave to them both and they disappear out the door. Tom and Sarah stand, picking up Chris and saying they're heading home too since it's already after nine o'clock and way past Chris' bedtime.

We walk them all to the door to say good night. Bradie and Alice are still out the front and he sings out to his parents that he and Alice are going for a drive.

When everyone has gone Andy and I put the kids to bed then sit on the couch and relax. I'm so exhausted but very relieved that everything went smoothly.

His parents were really excited when I told them that I'd bought the house and that we'd be staying put for quite a while.

"So what's happening with Alice and Bradie?" Andy asks me, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"What do you mean?" I ask him.

"Well they just seem awkward around each other at the moment don't you think?"

"Alice was saying that things feel a bit different at the moment" I tell him, not wanted to elaborate on what she said.

"I wonder what's going on there then." Andy says, in deep thought from the look of the frown lines on his face.

I roll my eyes and stand before saying "I'm going to take a shower gossip girl."

"Yeah, okay" he says, not realising what I just called him.

I go to the ensuite to clean myself up and when I come out Andy is still on the couch but with a new beer in one hand and the remote in the other.

"Hey, feel better?" he asks me as I sit down next to him.

"Yeah, I do. What are you watching?"

"The Wedding Singer is on in a minute, I was going to stay up and watch that."

"Alright" I say as I grab a pillow and snuggle into his side.

I'm woken hours later by a light shake and I stumble as I stand and make my way to bed. I crawl under the covers and Andy crawls in next to me, stroking my head before I doze off again.

When I wake on Sunday morning, Andy isn't in bed with me. I sit up and listen but can't hear anything. Glancing at the clock I see it's only six-thirty but my curiosity has gotten the better of me and I climb out of bed and look for him.

He's not in the ensuite so I head out to the living areas but still can't find him. I check on the kids who are still asleep before going out the back door. He's sitting at the back table with his laptop open and a beer next to him.

As I walk outside he looks up and smiles at me before quickly typing something then shutting his laptop again.

"Hey gorgeous" he says as I walk over and sit next to him.

"How come you're still up?" I ask him.

"Just couldn't sleep so I thought I'd catch up on some emails and Facebook instead."

"Do you often stay awake all night" I say as I start to yawn.

"Sometimes, I guess I've always been like that. I only need like two or three hours sleep and I'm good to go again most of the time."

"I need a coffee I think. Are you going to bed at all then?" I ask him.

"Probably not, I might head next door and grab some more stuff I think."

"Okay, well do you want a coffee first?" I ask him, watching as he swallows the last of his beer.

"Yeah, sure" he replies and I go and make us both one.

When I come back outside he's got his laptop open and looks like he's reading the screen.

"Anything interesting happening?" I ask him as I set his cup down next to him.

"Nah, not really, usual crap. I was talking to Bradie earlier though, he and Alice broke up."

"Really? Oh wow, how come?" I ask him, feigning ignorance.

"Apparently it just wasn't happening for either of them. Well so he says anyhow."

"Why are you saying it like that?" I ask him.

"I don't know, I just thought they were both into each other."

"Oh who knows right? Maybe they're just better off being friends?" I say.

"Yeah you're probably right. Still, I honestly thought they'd last a bit longer than that."

I sip my coffee and put my head on Andy's shoulder and look at his screen, my eyes not really focusing on it yet.

He shuts his laptop again before kissing the top of my head and shrugging his shoulder so I sit up.

"I'm going next door to get some stuff okay; I'll be back a bit later."

"Yeah, sure, I'll be here, let me know if you want a hand" I say, a little stunned at his abruptness.

I watch as he nods and takes his cup inside and leaves through the front door.

I finish my drink, deciding not to worry too much about Andy's reaction before heading indoors to start my day.

Just after nine I'm hanging the clothes out on the line when I hear a lot of shouting coming from next door. I listen but can't make out what's being yelled. I recognise Andy and Bradie's voices and I think I hear Tom as well before a door slams and everything is silent.

I finish pegging the washing and walk inside to find Andy pacing the kitchen.

"What's going on?" I ask him.

"Oh friggin Bradie" Andy says, looking over at the kids, mindful that they are within earshot.

"Come outside and tell me" I say as I lead him out the back door.

He's pacing around the table and when I pat the spot next to me he shakes his head and stays standing.

"Tell me what's wrong" I say again.

He put his hands through his hair then lets them drop to his side as he stops moving.

"I asked Bradie why he really broke up with Alice and he says he's not sure, just that he knows she's not what he wants."

"Okay, so what's wrong with that then?"

"I said well what is it that you want and he says someone just like you" Andy says, turning and pointing at me.

Oh-oh, now I know why they were arguing. Here comes Andy's jealous rant.

"What did you say then?" I ask in a near whisper.

"What do you think I said? I know he secretly wants you. He's not so secretive about it anymore though, practically telling me he wants my girlfriend. I mean who the fuck says that to their brother anyhow?"

"Hey, calm down please" I say to him.

"Don't you think I'd be a bit pissed about him saying that?"

"Well, hang on a minute; did he actually say he wanted me? Because I'm pretty sure he knows I'm taken and he probably meant someone like me. Do you think you might be over-reacting just a tiny bit honey?" I say to him.

"I need to clear my head. I'm going to go out for a bit okay, I'll ring you when I'm on my way back" he says bending over and kissing the top of my head before heading back in to the house to retrieve his keys.

I sit in stunned silence. Surely he can't be jealous over Bradie. I thought we'd already covered this once before.

I decide to stand and go back inside and maybe do some baking or something. Anything to take my mind off of what just happened.

I pull my mix master out and start grabbing ingredients from the pantry to make a basic cake. I hear a knock on the door and Lilly jumps up to answer it. I poke my head around the corner and see Bradie wander in saying hello to Max on his way to the kitchen.

I reach over and flick the kettle on knowing that he will want a cup of tea. I grab some cups as he sits at the bench and I walk over and lean on the bench in front of him.

"Hey, how are you?" I ask him.

"Terrible. I take it that was Andy I heard leave before?" he says.

"Yeah it was. He told me what happened. Are you okay?" I ask.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Alice and I both decided it just wasn't working so it's best to end it now so we're still friends. She's such a lovely girl, but she's not the one for me."

I turn and make him a cup of tea and myself a coffee and bring it back and place it in front of him.

"I don't know why the hell Andy went off like that. I mean seriously, I know you guys are together for Christ's sake. I'm not making any moves on you and I'm not hanging around hoping something bad will happen between you two, you know that right?"

"Of course I know that. I don't know why he's so insecure about us, but he obviously is."

"Has he told you about Vicki yet?" Bradie says.

I shake my head and take a sip of my coffee. "No, who's that?"

"She was like one of his best friends when he was a kid. I think he still talks to her on Facebook actually. But he was seeing this girl a while back and Vicki didn't really like her but put up with her for Andy's sake. Anyhow, one day Vic saw this other girl out with some guy at the movies while Andy was still seeing her. Turns out she had been cheating on him and the guy she was cheating with was one of Andy's mates from primary school. After that I think he's always been a bit wary."

"But what the hell has that got to do with me?" I ask Bradie and he shrugs as he sips his tea.

"I honestly don't know, but I wouldn't mind betting that he's having flashbacks to that. Maybe he's been talking to Vicki lately and she's putting ideas in his head? She always had a thing for him but he always just wanted to be friends, nothing more."

I'm dumb-founded by this and then the proverbial light-bulb blinks on. "He was on the computer this morning when I got up. As soon as I walked out side he shut it down. Do you think he could have been talking to her then?" I ask.

"Anything is possible. So wait a minute, has he not slept yet?"

"No, I don't know how he does that."

"Well it explains his cranky-ass mood anyhow."

Bradie's phone rings then and he pulls it out of his pocket, checks the display and answers it.

"Hey Mum" I hear him say as I take my empty cup to the sink and rinse it out.

I hear the panic in his voice as he says "What do you mean? What? When? Okay, I'll be there in a minute hang on."

I see him jump up and look up at me.

"What?" I ask him.

"The police just called Mum, Andy's been in an accident."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter six

**Andy's POV**

After I left Elle I jumped in my car and drove in the generally direction of the beach. I really needed to clear my head and that's the one place where I can actually relax.

I park the car and climb out, locking it as I walk away. I find a spot where there's hardly anyone and sit my arse on the sand and look out at the water. There aren't many people down here now since the weather has started to cool off. I pull my sunglasses over my eyes and start to aimlessly draw in the sand with a nearby stick.

I can't believe Bradie would say that to me. I completely trust Elle but knowing Bradie's past, there is no way I want him spending any time alone with her. I can never forget that moment when I lost most of my respect for him.

It was a year ago now and I was driving around, bored out of my brain and decided to stop at the DVD store and rent a movie. I walked in, found a copy of Happy Gilmore and Big Daddy and took them to the counter. While I was digging in my wallet for my member card I heard Bradie's voice and looked up.

I was surprised to see him and Brooke walking past the store laughing loudly. I handed over my card and paid with cash before grabbing the DVDs and going in search of them both. I found them a couple of shops away in the back of a coffee shop, completely oblivious to anyone around them.

They had their heads together, their backs to the door, unaware that they were being watched. I swear my chin hit the floor with the DVDs when I saw Bradie shove his tongue down her throat. I might have gagged a little too. I'm pretty sure I made some sort of noise because the next thing I knew, Bradie was picking the DVDs off the ground as Brooke grabbed my hand and towed be towards the booth they were sharing.

I didn't know whether to yell, scream or just vomit. Both of them swore to me that they hadn't done anything else, that there was nothing really between them and they both swore it will never happen again if I didn't tell Shaun what I'd seen.

I couldn't believe that Bradie would do this to Shaun. I mean, for fuck's sake, it wasn't just Shaun and Brooke on the line here; it was the fucking band too. If it ever got out that Bradie was shagging Brooke, even though they reckon that didn't happen, then the band, our careers, everything would be over. How could he be such a selfish fucking prick like this?

And the biggest pisser about this situation is that if I spill the beans and tell Shaun then it will be my fault for what happens next. Yeah, fucking thanks a lot Bradie.

I re-focus on the water in front of me as I try to force that from my mind and think about what's currently going on.

I'm pissed beyond belief at Bradie for saying that about Elle. It's like he's almost trying to bait me into an argument by saying that. I grab my phone from my pocket and dial Vicki's number. I had been talking to her on MSN this morning about the situation before Elle got up. She's the only one that knows what happened with Brooke and Bradie besides me, and even then, she doesn't know the full story. I wouldn't betray my band or my friends to anyone. Not even Vicki.

I have known her since pre-school and went all the way through primary school with her. We were best mates, and probably still are, to some degree. I know she felt something for me a few years back, but I could never want more than friendship with her.

We were talking about Bradie's confession to me on MSN this morning and she agreed that I had my rights for being pissed at him. How am I supposed to trust him?

"_Hello?" I hear her say._

"_Hey Vic, its Andy."_

"_Oh hey, how are you?" she says._

"_I'm okay I guess. I'm at the beach at the moment."_

"_Really, you're that pissed off?" she says with a laugh._

"_Yeah, I am" I say, standing as I do. "You wanna meet me somewhere for a coffee?" I ask her._

"_Okay, what about the coffee shop on Main Street?"_

"_Alright, I'll be there in ten minutes" I reply as I walk towards my car and unlock it._

"_See you then" she says and I hang up._

Climbing into my car I start the engine and head towards our meeting place. I really need to talk to someone about how I'm feeling and Vicki is about the only one who'll understand. Don't get me wrong, I would love to tell Elle what I'm feeling but since she doesn't know about the history between Bradie and I, I wouldn't feel comfortable bitching to her about him. I can't talk to Bradie yet or I'll just knife the fucker. So Vicki it is.

I'm almost to the coffee shop when I hear my phone buzz with a message. I grab it and open it to see who is messaging me when I hear a horn blare and look up in time to see a car coming at my driver's side door. I hit the brakes but it's too late and the impact throws me across the centre console, my phone flying from my hand and my head hitting the dashboard.

I hear the screech of tires and a dull thud before I lose consciousness.

**Elle's POV**

_Bradie's phone rings then and he pulls it out of his pocket, checks the display and answers it._

"_Hey Mum" I hear him say as I take my empty cup to the sink and rinse it out._

_I hear the panic in his voice as he says "What do you mean? What? When? Okay, I'll be there in a minute hang on."_

_I see him jump up and look up at me._

"_What?" I ask him._

"_The police just called Mum, Andy's been in an accident."_

"What? Where?" I say as panic fills my head.

"Come on, Mum said to come over" Bradie says as he grabs my hand and we run to the lounge room.

"Hey Kids, come next door for a minute" Bradie says to them both as I try to compose myself long enough to assess what to do next.

Max and Lilly hop up and follow Bradie out the front door as I run back to the kitchen to grab my phone and keys.

"Hey Elle" Bradie sings out to me.

"Yeah I'm coming" I reply as I run back to the front door.

"How about you give Alice a call and she could perhaps watch the twins" he says.

"Oh, good thinking. Okay I'll do that now" I say as I pull my phone from my pocket and dial Alice's number.

After a brief conversation she agrees to come over and watch the kids for me. I hang up and follow Bradie and the kids into the kitchen to find Sarah in tears.

"What happened?" Bradie asks her.

"I don't know much yet. The police say he's been taken to the hospital but it's not life threatening or anything like that. He was unconscious when they found him and they think he hit his head on the dash."

"But how did it happen?" I ask her as Bradie throws his arm around Sarah's shoulder.

"Apparently he went through a give way sign and a car hit his driver's side door."

"Well Alice is on her way over to watch the kids for us" I tell her and she nods her head in thanks.

Looking at Sarah so upset is making me feel like I'm going to crack at any moment.

"Mum, will Andy be alright?" Max says from behind me. I turn and notice that Lilly is standing behind him, almost hiding and I realise that they are probably both scared witless.

"I'm sure he'll be fine guys" I say kneeling down and pulling them both to me in a hug. "He's tough, remember. He'll probably just have a terrible headache. But I promise I'll ring you as soon as I know what's wrong with him" I tell them both. "Alice is coming to watch you two and Chris so we can go and find out what's wrong with him okay. How about you take Chris into the toy room and start playing while you wait for Alice?"

"Okay Mum" Max says and takes Chris' hand and leads him and Lilly down the hall to the play room.

"He'll be alright" I say to Sarah as I grab her hand and squeeze gently. "Where's Tom?"

"He just went to the shop to get the paper. He'll be home in a minute I hope. He didn't take his phone so I couldn't ring him" she tells me.

I hear the front door open and Tom comes in whistling, which stops almost immediately when he sees our faces.

Sarah quickly explains what's happened and Tom hugs her tight. "Why don't you guys head off and I'll wait for Alice and come as soon as I can" I say to them.

"I'll wait with you" Bradie says as Tom says thanks quickly and ushers Sarah out the door.

"Thanks Bradie" I say as I pace around the kitchen, willing Alice to hurry the hell up.

I hear Tom and Sarah pull away and Bradie steps over to where I am wearing a rut in the kitchen floor.

"Come here" he says and holds me to his chest while I lose control of my tears.

"What if he's not alright?" I say between sobs. Bradie is rubbing my back trying to calm me and telling me quietly that he'll be fine.

I'm unsure of how long we stood together in the kitchen like that but when I hear Alice's car pull up I suddenly come alive and jump away from Bradie, wiping the tears from my eyes. "I'm just going to go wash my face quickly" I say as I run down the hallway to the bathroom.

When I come back out Alice is already in the play room with the kids.

"Hey Alice, thanks so much for coming over" I say.

She stands up and gives me a quick hug before saying in my ear "keep me posted okay."

"I will" I reply as I release her and go in search of Bradie.

He's still waiting in the kitchen and when he sees me he says "ready?"

"Yep, let's go" I say as he grabs his keys.

I follow him out to the car and jump in with him. He's driving like Miss Daisy and my patience is running thin, even though I know he's only trying to be careful.

I start tapping on the door and trying to keep myself still as I endure the very long, very slow ride to the hospital. When we finally park I quickly open my door and start for the entrance with Bradie trailing behind.

We burst through the hospital doors and head to the front desk. "Andy Clemmensen" Bradie says to the nurse and she looks at her list of admissions.

"Are you family" she asks, looking up at him.

"Yeah, I'm his brother" he replies before she nods and looks at her list again.

"He's in room 4 on the second floor. Take the elevator over there" she says and points to her left.

We both race over and wait for the doors to open before we take the elevator to the floor above.

When we step out we see Tom and Sarah in the hallway down from the elevator. We rush over to them.

"What's going on?" Bradie asks them both.

"The doctor is in there now with him" Tom says to us.

I take a deep breath and lean against the wall next to Bradie.

We stand there for ten minutes before the doctor comes out to speak with Tom and Sarah whilst Bradie and I eavesdrop.

"So it appears Andy has a mild concussion and bruised ribs from the impact but that's about it from what we can see from the x-rays. We'll keep him in tonight for observation though. He'll have a pretty bad headache for the next day or two and possibly some facial bruising but he will be fine to go home in the morning."

"Thank you doctor" Tom says shaking his hand. "Are we okay to see him now?"

"Yeah, sure, like I said he's just going to be a little sore" he says as he turns and heads down the hall.

We all file into the room to find Andy on the bed dressed in a hospital gown. I can see the bruising appearing on his face already and I'm reminded of the black eyes he recently had.

Sarah and Tom both say hello to him followed by Bradie. I bend over and kiss his forehead and say hello to him as well. He seems a little bit out of it and his eyes are a bit glassy. I'm guessing they've given him something for the pain.

We all talk quietly to him, Tom and Sarah asking him about the accident but he doesn't seem to remember much about it. We are all startled by the sound of a phone ringing and I quickly recognise Andy's ring tone. Bradie stands and goes through the pile of Andy's clothes on the little set of drawers and finds the phone.

"Just answer it" Andy says to Bradie as I see Bradie push the green button.

"Hello?" I hear him say.

"Who? Oh hi Vicki, how are you? It's Bradie. What? No he's been in an accident; we're here at the hospital with him. Yeah he seems okay. Yeah, alright I'll tell him. See you soon."

He hangs up and turns the phone off before saying "You know you're not supposed to have your phone on in the hospital don't you?"

"Was that Vic?" Andy asks him.

"Yeah, she said to tell you that she's sick of waiting for you and that she's on her way here."

Andy is strangely silent and I can see Tom and Sarah exchanging looks. Bradie looks quite uncomfortable too.

I'm unsure of what to say or do and as I'm about to ask if anyone wants a coffee Tom stands and suggests that they should give Andy and I some privacy.

When they've left the room I move to the seat next to the bed and grab Andy's hand.

"How are you feeling?" I ask him.

"Like shit. I can't believe I went through a give-way sign. What a fucking idiot" he says before saying "oww my head hurts like a bitch."

I contemplate not mentioning Vicki but my brain gets the better of me. "So who's Vicki?" I say, trying my hardest not to sound jealous.

Andy looks almost as uncomfortable as I feel. "Umm, she's like one of my oldest friends from school. I was on my way to meet her for a coffee when I went through that intersection."

"Oh, I see" I reply, unsure of what else to say.

"Look, I swear to you that she's nothing more to me than a really good friend. It's not like that between us alright. She's just someone who's know both Bradie and I for so long and I guess I just wanted to talk to her about what's going on at the moment. I actually can't wait for you to meet her."

"How come she wasn't at your party then?" I ask him.

"She was overseas at the time in London. She works as a photographer for bands. She's done quite a few of our photo shoots actually."

"Oh okay. I'm surprised I haven't heard anything about her before now" I tell him.

"I've been meaning to get the two of you together but she only just got back a week ago I think. I'm sure you'll love her. She is a really nice girl" he tells me.

I secretly already hate her, just for being the one indirectly responsible for his accident. If he wasn't driving to meet her, he wouldn't have crashed. "Can't wait" I say to him with a smile. It's a good thing he's drugged up and can't detect my sarcasm.

Bradie pops his head through the door and asks if he can come in. I stand and tell them both that I'm just going to grab a coffee and call Alice. I bend over and give Andy a kiss before leaving and heading for the elevators.

When I'm downstairs and outside I turn my phone on and dial Alice's number.

"_Hey Alice it's me" I say when she answers._

"_What's happening? How is he?" she asks._

"_He's got a concussion and some bruised ribs but he'll be okay. They're keeping him in tonight though" I tell her._

"_Oh okay. The kids are fine, just so you know."_

"_I'll be home probably in an hour or so anyhow. I'll bring them back with me I think since he seems to be okay" I tell her._

"_Alright, I'll see you soon" she says._

"_Bye Alice, and thanks again" I say before ending the call._

I put my phone back in my pocket and head inside to the cafeteria to get a coffee. After I have paid and I'm heading for the elevator a girl comes rushing past me and knocks my arm, effectively spilling the hot liquid all over my jeans.

"Oww, oww, shit, oww" I say to myself as I dance around on the spot. The girl keeps running and yells a sorry over her shoulder to me.

I head into the bathroom and dampen some paper towel to soak up the spill. When I've done all I can I grab my cup and make my way to the stairs to go back to Andy's room.

When I approach down the hallway I notice that Sarah, Tom and Bradie are all standing in the hallway again.

"Is the doctor back in there?" I ask them.

"No, Vicki's here" Bradie says.

"Oh, okay" I say as I lean against the wall next to Bradie again and wait my turn.

"Hey Bradie" I hear Andy call out and Bradie goes in the room to see him. When he comes out he says "Elle, Andy wants you."

"Thanks Bradie" I say as I walk in the room to see Andy. There is a girl sitting next to him on the bed with her legs crossed. Her long blonde hair is in loose curls down her shoulders and her beautiful face is beaming with a smile so bright that her teeth are like reflectors.

I recognise her as the girl who knocked my coffee flying. Great, I hate her already.

"Elle, I want you to meet Vicki" Andy says to me. I put my coffee into my other hand and reach out to shake hers. She seems a bit confused by this but reluctantly holds her hand out as well. I grasp it and say "It's nice to meet you."

"Oh, you're the girl with the coffee. I'm sorry about that before, I didn't mean to bump you" she says to me.

"Its fine, all cleaned up now" I says to her as I notice Andy's confused face.

I'm about to explain it to him when Vicki pipes up and says "I was in such a rush to make sure you were okay that I completely didn't see Elle here downstairs and bumped her as I ran past."

"Oh okay. Are you alright" he says to me and I nod, afraid that if I open my mouth that I might say something I might regret.

"Where's Max and Lilly?" he asks me.

"I left them at home with Alice" I say to him.

"Who's Max and Lilly? Are they your dogs?" Vicki asks me.

"No. My children" I say with a tight smile wondering how I'm going to ever like this girl.

"Oh wow. Andy never said you were that old" she says and I feel my hands tighten of their own accord.

"Hey Vicki, can you give us a moment please?" Andy says, obviously aware of the fact I'm about to lose control any second from now.

"Yeah sure, I'll be outside" she says before hopping off the bed and parading out of the room. If her skirt was any shorter I swear she would be wearing a scarf.

"She means well" Andy says before I even think about opening my mouth.

"It just takes a while to get used to her bluntness" he says and I nod my head.

"Seriously though, she's not that bad" he says and I realise then that I haven't actually said anything since she left the room. I lean over and kiss him softly.

"I'm sure I'll get used to her" I say as I sit back up and grab his hand, hoping to God that it's true.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter seven

I stay with Andy a little while longer before telling him I'm heading home to check on the kids. I promise him I'll be back later and kiss him goodbye before I head out the door to where everyone else is waiting.

As soon as I'm through the door frame, Vicki is straight into the room with Andy again. I inwardly sigh and tell Tom, Sarah and Bradie that I'm going to catch a cab home.

"Don't be silly, I'll drive you" Bradie says before putting his head through the doorway and saying goodbye to Andy.

When he comes back out we walk downstairs together and back out to the parking lot. After we both get in the car we head out of the car park and back on the main road. It's almost lunch time and my stomach rumbles loudly. Bradie lets out a little laugh before asking if I want to grab some lunch.

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea" I say to him. We make our way to the nearest McDonalds and head through the drive through, picking up lunch for Alice and the kids as well.

"So what did you think of Vicki" Bradie says on the drive home.

I'm mindful that she's known both of them for a long time so I chose my words wisely.

"She seems nice. She obviously cares a lot for Andy too" I tell him.

"She does take some time to get used to but she is a really good friend of his" Bradie tells me.

I simply nod, not wanting to open my mouth and cause trouble.

"But to be honest" Bradie says before lowering his voice to a near-whisper, "I don't like her that much."

I laugh at this and he raises his eyebrows in surprise. "What's so funny?" he asks me.

"I have to admit, her first impression on me wasn't a good one."

"Oh really? What happened?" he asks me.

"Well, firstly she ran into me in the hallway downstairs and spilt my coffee all over me. Then when I did meet her in the room, she assumed Max and Lilly were dogs and then practically called me old when she found out they are my kids."

Bradie cracks up laughing at this and I allow myself a little giggle as well.

"I completely understand. She calls me old because I drink tea and thinks I'm weird because I still like the concept of Spiderman and I collect things" Bradie says.

"She's a little too blunt for my tastes. I'm pretty sure she doesn't like me too much" I tell him.

"Yeah, well, she's never really liked me either" Bradie tells me.

We pull into the driveway of the Webb residence and I'm personally glad that Bradie doesn't worship Vicki in the way that Andy seems to. It seems I might have a future ally in Bradie.

We climb out of the car, taking the food with us and head inside to see Alice and the kids.

They're happy that Andy is okay and the kids are really happy that we brought them McDonalds. We sit at the dining room table and eat together, discussing the hospital visit. Bradie tells Alice about Vicki and I see her raise her eyebrows when he tells her about what happened when I met her.

"I can't wait to meet this one" Alice says as she takes a bite of her burger.

"She's a piece of work" I say. "But obviously she can't be all that bad though if Andy is still friends with her after all these years."

"I'll try to remember that" Alice says with a grin.

When we're finished we clean up the mess and Alice says goodbye to us all. I thank her profusely for looking after the kids for us all as I walk her out to her car. When I come back inside Bradie is in the toy room with the kids watching a movie.

"It's time for Chris' nap so I thought if we all watch a movie he might settle down enough to have a sleep" Bradie tells me.

"Good thinking" I say as I settle on to the couch next to him. The kids are lying on the floor on a rug and the movie starts to play. We're watching Finding Nemo and I have a giggle to myself at Dory. She's my favourite character in this and I'm forever quoting her to the kids.

About twenty minutes in to the movie I notice that Chris has fallen asleep. I nudge Bradie to get his attention and point to Chris. He nods and stands, picking him up and carrying him to his room.

When he returns he sits back on the couch next to me. "Do you want us to leave?" I ask him, afraid that we could be keeping him from doing something else.

"Don't be stupid" he says nudging me with his shoulder. I return his smile and focus on the movie again. A little while later I get up and go to the bathroom and when I return I ask if it's okay if I grab a drink.

Bradie jumps up and I follow him to the kitchen. He rummages through the pantry for a while and comes out holding a bag of microwave popcorn looking like he just won the lotto.

"I just knew I had some in here somewhere" he says before putting it in the microwave and grabbing a bowl from the cupboard.

He pours some cups of water for the kids and hands me a can of diet Coke.

"Thank you" I say, taking the can and cracking it open, having a sip.

The microwave beeps and he takes the bag out before emptying it into the bowl. I follow him back to the lounge and he puts the bowl on the floor in front of the twins. They both sit up and shove their hands in the popcorn.

Bradie leans forward and grabs the bowl and offers me some as well. I take a small handful and sit back to get comfortable again.

When the DVD is finished I get the kids up and thank Bradie for the movie and the company.

"No problems Elle. You know I'm here if you need to talk about anything don't you?" he says.

"Yeah, I do. Thanks Bradie, I'll probably take you up on that offer if Vicki hangs around for a while" I say with a smile.

He walks the kids and me to the front door and we make our way home with a promise to phone him before I leave for the hospital.

I get the kids to change into some nice clothes whilst I get the washing off the line and clean up around the house. It's still in a mess from when I ran out this morning after the accident so I spend the next hour getting everything clean and tidy.

When I'm done and ready to head back to see Andy I send Bradie a text.

_We're heading back to the hospital if you want to come with us _

I grab my bag and hustle the kids out to the car. I hear the neighbours front door shut and see Bradie come bounding down the path and over to my car.

"Hey, Mum and Dad are home now so I can leave Chris with them" he says as he walks around to the passenger side door. I unlock the car and we all climb in together.

When the kids are buckled in safely I reverse out of the driveway and make my way to the hospital again. I've brought along a few of Andy's things for him as well, even though he didn't ask for them.

We park and walk inside, taking the elevator so the kids can push all the buttons, as kids do. When we reach the room we walk in to find Vicki lying down next to Andy on top of the sheets. She sits up suddenly when she sees us though and swings her legs off the bed, standing instead.

"Hey gorgeous" Andy says to me as I try my hardest to ignore the fact that another girl was just lying next to him. "Hey kids how are you?" he says to Max and Lilly and they go over to him. Lilly gives him a cuddle and Max gives him a fist bump.

"Guys, this is my good friend Vicki. Vicki, this is Max and Lilly, Elle's twins" Andy says, introducing them all.

Bradie pulls up a chair and I sit next to him on the opposite side of the bed to Vicki. Max sits on the end of the bed and Lilly lies down next Andy, making herself comfortable.

"Are you really okay Andy?" Lilly asks him.

"Yeah, I'll be just fine, just a bit sore and not as pretty as I normally am" he says to her smiling.

"Do you want me to do your hair for you?" Lilly asks him and I crack a smile.

"Awww, thanks sweetie but not right now okay? My head is really sore at the moment."

"Okay" she says and cuddles into him softly.

"So Andy tells me you guys live together" Vicki says from across the other side of the bed.

"Yeah, he's only just moved in with us but it's not as though he has far to go if he gets sick of us. We only live next door to his parents anyhow" I say to her.

"I see, and Bradie, you still live at home too don't you?" Vicki asks him.

"Yeah, no reason to move out yet" he replies.

"So you and Elle must see a lot of each other then?" she says.

I don't know what she's playing at but I'm pretty sure she's trying to put some doubt in Andy's head about Bradie and me.

"Actually I hardly ever see Bradie these days. What with the band stuff and his very recent girlfriend, I guess we don't see much of him at all now do we Andy?" I reply.

"Nah, I see him way more than you do usually" he says smiling at me but ignoring Bradie. What the hell is going on?

"It's a shame really though" I say turning to face Bradie. "We've become really good friends since I moved in haven't we?"

"Yep, I reckon I've hardly seen my other friends actually since Elle and the kids arrived" Bradie says, giving me a sly wink to let me know that he's stirring.

"We did sort of hit it off right away didn't we?" I say to him, aware that the steam must be almost shooting our of Andy's ears. I'm teasing him more for Vicki's sake than anything else though. The sooner that Andy learns to trust Bradie and I the better it will be for all of us.

"Yeah, then I introduced you to my big brother and the rest, as they say, was history" Bradie says with a grin.

"Hang on a minute" Andy says. "You didn't introduce us, I went next door and did that myself remember. You buggered off for the day and left me on babysitting duty with Chris. Elle here had her music so loud that I had to ask her to turn it down."

"Well I did play a part in it. If you remember, you asked me about her when you were perving over the fence at her and then you said you wanted to meet her. I just disappeared for the day, knowing that having something in common like a small child would help break the ice" Bradie says.

"I call bullshit on that Bradie. How could you have known she'd have her music up loud so I could go next door and talk to her?" Andy says.

"Well I didn't, but I also know that you would have found something to talk to her about anyhow. You were obsessed with her from the day she moved in" Bradie replies.

"Really?" Vicki says with her face screwed up. I'm starting to really dislike the girl but to Andy's credit, he ignores the look on her face and sets his gaze on me instead.

"Yeah, really. I couldn't stop thinking about her after that first meeting. I was hooked" he says, softening his voice.

I return his smile and squeeze his free hand.

"Like I said, the rest was history" Bradie says smiling at us both.

"Well I'm going to go get a drink I think. I'll be back soon" Vicki says, standing abruptly and strutting from the room.

"Is she okay?" I ask Andy, feigning concern.

"I'm sure she'll be fine. I guess she isn't the 'girly romantic' type" Andy says.

"Okay. So how are you feeling then? Any better?" I ask him. I notice his eyes are clear so the pain killers must have worn off a bit.

"I'm alright, just a smasher of a headache at the moment. My ribs are okay if I don't move too much. How's the bruising on my face going?"

"It looks like it did when the man hit you" Lilly says and I notice Max nod in agreement.

"Do you think I need some of your mummy's make up?" Andy asks Lilly.

"No. Boys don't wear make up" she says.

I have a chuckle and look at Bradie trying to contain his laughter.

"You know sweetie, at one point there all three of the guys wore more make up than I ever have" I tell Lilly. The look on her face is priceless.

"Why did you wear make up? Were you playing dress ups?" She asks Andy.

I think he's doing his very best not to laugh at her but when I see the smile crack on his face I instantly think about how much it's going to hurt his ribs if he starts laughing.

"We were supposed to wear it for photos and videos and stuff" Bradie says, drawing her attention away from Andy for a moment. He releases a huge smile and I can see him trying to contain himself. "But we don't wear it much at all now. Shaun was always the one who wore the most anyhow. You should ask him sometime when you're older to give you some tips on applying it."

"Is that true?" she asks Andy.

"Yeah, it is sweetie. Shaun is really a girl in a man's body" he says.

"Hey, don't tell her that" I say. "He's only playing Lilly" I tell her.

Andy looks to her with a straight face and shakes his head at her."No I'm not" he says. Lilly doesn't know who to believe at this point.

"They're all playing around Lilly" Max tells her. She believes anything that Max tells her, which comes in handy at times like these.

Vicki wanders back in and takes her spot next to Andy on the other side of the bed again.

"You okay?" Andy asks her.

"Yeah, I'm good. I just made a couple of phone calls, just trying to find somewhere to stay for a bit while I'm in town. I've got three weeks before I'm off to America for another assignment."

"That's right, you're parents don't live here anymore do they?" Andy says to her.

"Nah, they moved back to Melbourne last year. So now I have nowhere to stay when I come up here to visit" she says.

I know exactly what's about to happen before it even does.

"Well, there's a spare room at Mum and Dad's now that I'm living next door. Why don't you ask them if you can use it while you're here? I'm sure they won't mind you know" Andy says.

I can feel Bradie tense up beside me. "Actually Andrew, I think Mum was going to use that room to store all that stuff in the garage while it's being repainted" Bradie tells him.

"What? Since when is the garage being repainted?" Andy says.

"Mum and Dad were talking about it last week. You were probably asleep at the time and missed it" Bradie replies.

"Well they said they're coming in tonight so I'll ask them then" he says.

The room goes silent before Vicki clears her throat and launches into a story of how her last assignment in London went.

After awhile I get sick of the sound of her voice and excuse myself to the toilets. Max and Lilly both say they want to go too so Bradie agrees to take Max for me.

When we come out of the bathrooms we meet up in the hallway before slowly walking back to the room.

"I really hope she doesn't stay with us" Bradie says.

"Was that true what you said about the garage?" I ask him.

"No, I'm going to call Dad in a minute and suggest it to him though. When did you want to go home?" he asks me.

"Whenever you're ready I guess. I don't think I can take too much more of Vicki for one night and the kids are back at school tomorrow."

"Alright, how about we head back now and grab dinner on the way?" he asks as we walk up to the door of Andy's room.

"Yeah sure."

We enter and find Andy and Vicki deep in conversation discussing some event from their past from the sounds of things.

"Hey babe, we're going to head home now okay?" I say standing next to him.

"Oh really? How come?" he says.

"The kids have school in the morning remember but I'll come see you when I've dropped them off. I've got to go and grab some stuff from the shop tomorrow anyhow. Do you know when you're being released?" I ask him.

"They said if everything's fine then I can go in the morning. I think they said the doctor will be around after ten o'clock so some time after then I think" he says grabbing my hand.

"Alright, I'll come back at ten then" I say leaning over to kiss him. "Good night" I whisper to him.

"Night gorgeous" he says to me. "Night kids, be good for your Mummy" he says with a smile.

"We will" says Max, and Bradie says goodbye as well before we walk back out and head downstairs to the car.

"So kids, what do you want for dinner?" I ask them once we're on our way home again.

We pull through the KFC drive through and get a family dinner before going home again.

Bradie comes over to our house to eat and half way through dinner he remembers he has to ring his father. He stands and excuses himself from the table before going out the back to make the phone call.

While he's gone I ask the kids what they think of Vicki.

"She's okay I guess" says Max.

"She's a bit weird but" says Lilly. "Is she Andy's girlfriend too"?"

"No honey, boys only have one girlfriend at a time."

"Oh okay. I just thought she was because she was lying so close to him when we got there."

"She's just a good friend of his, that's all" I say as Bradie comes back in.

"Bad news, his phone is off and so is Mum's. I think I've missed them" he says.

"Oh well. It couldn't be that bad having her stay could it?" I say.

"I hate to be the one to burst your bubble but I really think she's way more trouble than she's worth" Bradie tells me.

I frown to myself and go back to eating my dinner. Let's hope three weeks moves by real quick.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter eight

After dinner we watch a little bit of TV before I announce that it's bed time for the kids. Bradie says goodnight and I walk him to the front door before tucking the kids in.

I have a quick shower and when I come back out to the kitchen I check the doors are locked and the windows are shut. I pick my phone up off the bench and check it. I have an unread text message from Bradie.

_I was too late. Vicki is expected tonight. She will be using Andy's old room. Oh hoorah :( _

I send him a quick one back saying _I'm sure we'll survive. Goodnight :) _before heading back to my bedroom and trying to get to sleep. I toss and turn for ages and eventually resort to listening to the radio to put me to sleep.

When the alarm wakes me at six am I hop up and take a quick shower to wake myself up.

I go about my normal morning routine getting the kids and myself organised. I send Andy a text before leaving the house to let him know that I'll be there by ten am.

When we walk out to the car I notice a new vehicle parked in the neighbour's driveway. She rides a motorcycle, of course she does. Max notices it immediately and asks me about it.

"I think its Vicki's mate. She's staying in Andy's old room for a little bit before she has to leave the country again" I tell him before hustling him into the car so I can drop them at school today.

I walk them to their classroom and head to the store to see Sandra. When I enter the shop she's in the middle of serving someone so I walk out to the office and grab some things while I wait for her.

When I come back out the lady she was serving has left and I say good morning.

"Hey, I was just going to ring you actually, is Andy alright?" she says.

I frown and say "What do you mean?"

"He was in an accident yesterday wasn't he? It said it in the paper this morning" she says, reaching under the counter and pulling out a copy of today's local newspaper.

She unfolds it and leafs through it before stopping on page five and turning it around to show me.

The headline reads "Short Stack nudist in accident while texting. Is this a role model?" There is a photo of Short stack and another one in an insert of Andy standing naked with his back to the camera. As I read through the article I felt my stomach lurch at what this could mean for the band, for Andy and to my alarm, the children and I as well.

It babbles on about how irresponsible he is, how he doesn't consider what he's doing when he posts naked photos of himself on the internet. It goes on to say that as a role model to young Australians he really should be more mindful of what he does in public. Much to my horror, it seems someone has also leaked that he's dating a 'young mother of two' and speculates what my mothering skills must be like to expose my children to someone so irresponsible.

"Didn't you know about this?" Sandra asks me, forcing my attention away from the newspaper.

"No, nothing. I mean, I know he was in an accident of course, I'm on my way now to pick him up from the hospital."

"Is he alright? They never said in that article if he was okay."

"Yeah, he's a bit sore but he'll be fine in a few days. Who the hell do these people think they are saying stuff like that?" I say to her getting angry again.

I'm practically seething and can't decide if I should be ranting or sobbing at the moment.

"Calm down Elle okay. This is why they have management. They'll take care of this. You go and pick Andy up and I bet he's already spoken to his people about this already. It'll be fine, trust me" Sandra says giving my shoulder a squeeze.

I take a calming breath and thank her with a hug.

"I've got the latest receipts too okay, I'll work on them later on today" I tell her.

"No problems, when you're ready" she tells me.

"I'm sorry my life is like one long drama lately, I swear nothing usually ever happens to me" I tell her with a half smile.

"It's fine Elle, seriously. How boring would it be without you around here huh?" she says with a smile. "Now go on and get your man" she tells me.

"Alright, I'll talk to you later on Sandra" I say as I head out the door and to my car.

I wonder if Andy knows about the newspaper article yet and if his family knows as well. Surely one of them would have let me know about it. Bradie would have texted me for sure.

I pull into the car park at the hospital a little after ten and make my way upstairs to Andy's room. When I walk in however I'm a little annoyed to find Vicki already there with him sitting on his bed.

"Hey gorgeous" he says to me as I walk in the room and put my bag down on the chair next to the bed. I walk over to him and give him a kiss and say "morning" softly to him before straightening myself up again.

"Morning Vicki" I say to her.

"Hey Elle, how are you this morning? No rug-rats hey?" she says.

"No. They're in school" I say to her before turning my attention back to Andy.

"So how are you feeling this morning?" I ask him.

"Fine, just a shitty headache and sore ribs but I'm okay."

I'm guessing by the way he's talking that he hasn't seen the newspapers yet.

"So has the doctor been by yet?" I ask him, aware that Vicki hasn't relinquished her spot on the bed next to Andy.

"No but a nurse came by before and said he's on his way" he says to me.

"Did you sleep much?" I ask him.

"Nah, not really, I think I'm too used to sleeping next to you these days babe. I did ask for something to help me sleep but they wouldn't give me anything."

"You can catch up when you get home okay" I say to him.

"I'm going to go and grab something to eat, I'll be back" Vicki says, finally leaving us in peace.

I wait for her to leave the room before sitting down next to Andy and holding his hand in mine. "I missed you last night" I tell him. "I couldn't get to sleep either."

"Ah, we'll catch up tonight then. Can you hand me my phone please?" he asks me.

"You aren't supposed to have that on in here you know" I say to him, realising that this is probably why he doesn't know about the paper.

"What time did Vicki get here?" I ask him as he turns on the phone and waits for it to connect.

"I think it was around eight-thirty."

"Oh okay, so has anyone else been by to see you?" I ask him just as his phone starts beeping with numerous messages and missed calls.

"What the fuck?" he says before opening up the message folder and reading them.

He looks up at me and says "what's this about the newspaper? Have you seen it?"

"Sandra just showed me it then" I tell him.

"Is it anything to worry about?" he says.

I'm about to reply when Vicki comes bursting back into the room with a newspaper in her hand and shoves it on to Andy's lap.

"You should see this Andrew" she says, pointing to the article.

He takes the paper and reads it quietly, not even looking up when the doctor comes in the room and asks Vicki and I to leave.

We both stand in the hallway, silent. It bothers me a bit that this girl is his best friend, supposedly, but I know nothing about her.

"So, where are you off to next?" I ask her, trying to be nice and make conversation.

"Ah I have an assignment in Washington with some new pop punk band from there. Then I think it's off to New Zealand before heading back to London."

"Wow, you collect some frequent flyer points. Do you miss not having a home base or do you just really like to travel?" I ask her.

"The travel lets me meet some pretty cool people but yeah, I wish I could settle down you know? Be stable, have a safe little life and just be content with staying at home. Like how you do."

There it is, the little dig at me that I knew she was going to make. I chose to ignore it though and go back to staring at my Converse while I wait for the doctor to finish with Andy.

"What about you Elle? Have you done much travelling?" she asks me.

"Not really. I didn't get much of a chance after I had the twins. My focus has been on them for the last seven years. Who knows though, it'd be nice to go away on a holiday sometime."

The doctor comes out of the room and Vicki and I walk back in to see Andy.

"So what's the verdict?" Vicki asks.

"He said that I'm right to go" Andy says, standing and putting his things in the bag I brought for him last night.

"I'll see you back at your house then?" Vicki says, grabbing her helmet off the floor.

"Yeah, a bit later on though. I have some stuff I have to take care of first. I'll call you later" he says to her and she nods and waves at me before leaving the room.

I take the bag from Andy, pick up my handbag as well and grab his hand as we walk down to the nurse's station for him to sign his discharge papers.

When we're outside the building he grabs his phone from his pocket and starts checking his voicemail while we walk to the car. I stay silent, giving him time to listen to all of his messages.

"Are you okay?" he asks me when we reach the car.

"Yeah, I'm okay, just a bit pissed off that they threw the kids and I in that article as well though. Thank goodness they didn't actually name us" I reply.

"I'm just going to call management and see what's happening about it all" he says as he gingerly slides into the passenger seat. I hop in too and start the car, turning the radio off so he can hear properly.

I concentrate on the road and drive us back home. When we pull up Andy is still on the phone and I grab his bag from the back seat and open his door for him before helping him from the car.

We walk up the path and I unlock the front door and step inside, with Andy behind me. He puts his hand over the phone and says "I'm just going to go out back while I talk to these guys okay?"

"Okay" I say and take his bag to the laundry so I can unpack his dirty clothes.

Half and hour later, the washing is done, I've made brunch for us and he's still outside on the phone.

I decide to pull out my laptop and start on my work whilst I wait for him to finish.

I grab the toasted sandwich I made and start eating while I'm loading up the accounting program. I quickly check my emails and see I have a new one from my parents.

I scan it quickly and to my alarm it says that Dean's parents have contacted them, wanting to get in touch with me. They wouldn't say why but Mum says that they mentioned the article in the paper. She also asked how Andy was and I decide to give her a quick call to find out what's going on.

"_Hey Mum, I just got your email" I say when she answers._

"_Is Andy okay? What happened?" she says._

"_He's fine, he spent last night in hospital with a concussion and bruised ribs but he's home again now. I just picked him up actually. What's going on with Dean's parents?" I ask her._

"_Carol called here this morning wanting you phone number. I was pretty surprised by this but when I asked her why she wouldn't say. But I did hear Jim say in the background something about the newspaper article, about not mentioning it. The man is half deaf and doesn't even realise how loudly he speaks half the time."_

"_So you think they've seen that then? How do they even remember who Andy is? They only met him that one time at the funeral, surely they wouldn't have known who he was" I say to her._

"_I don't know honey. But do remember that Andy had a bit of a black eye at the time. Maybe they were curious to know who was replacing their son in their grandkids lives. It would be fairly easy to ask around the people that were there to find out who knew his name."_

"_Yeah true. But really, they've hardly taken an interest in the kids up until now anyhow. Why the sudden interest?" I say._

"_I have no idea, but please just be careful okay. I've got to go but tell Andy we hope he's better soon okay?"_

"_Yeah, Mum, thanks again. I'll call you soon" I say before hanging up the phone._

I put my phone back down and log into the accounts program as I hear Andy come in the back door.

"I made us something to eat" I call out to him as he comes over to the kitchen table and sits next to me.

"How'd it go?" I ask.

"Well, the label is pissed as hell about the publicity but management aren't too worried about it at the moment. They did ask me about the kids though so I had to let them know what was going on. If they don't know then they can't deflect any bad publicity properly" he says.

"Yeah, that makes sense" I say.

"Were you just on the phone?" he asks me.

"Yeah, I was talking to Mum. She said to tell you that she hopes you're better soon."

"So she knows about the accident then? Did she see the paper?" he asks me.

"Yeah she did. Actually, I think Dean's parents saw it too. They rang Mum this morning and asked her for my number."

"Really? Why would they want that?" he asks me.

"I honestly don't know but I get the feeling it's not going to be good" I say, picking up the other half of my sandwich and taking a bite.

Andy does the same and as I look at him I realise just how tired he must be.

"Why don't you go and have a lay down after lunch? You must be knackered" I say to him. "I have some work to do anyway."

"I think I will actually. Can you wake me before you go and get the kids though? I want to come with you" he says, stuffing the last of his sandwich in his mouth.

"Yeah, sure thing babe" I says as he leans over and gives me a crumb-filled kiss.

He wanders towards the bedroom and I go back to my work in an attempt to get it all done today so I can spend time with him tomorrow.

At half past two I hear the motorbike pull in next door and instantly groan knowing that Vicki was back.

I'm finishing up the last entry when there's a sharp knock on the front door. I finish typing and then stand to unlock the door.

"Hey Vicki, what can I do for you?" I say as Vicki stands on my doorstep in leather pants and a singlet top.

"I was looking for Andy, is he around?" she says.

"He's asleep actually. Do you want me to pass on a message for you or anything?" I say.

"Oh, um, I was just going to see if he wanted to come for a ride this afternoon actually. He hasn't been on my bike for ages."

"Well I'll tell him you called by if you like when he wakes up."

"Okay, tell him to call me please" she says as she makes her way down the steps and back to Tom and Sarah's house.

I close the door and go pack up my lap top and paper work and put the kettle on. A couple of minutes later and there's another knock on the door. I wonder what the hell she wants this time.

When I open the door I'm surprised to see Bradie on the doorstep.

"Hey, come in" I say to him. "I'm just making a cuppa, do you want one?"

"Yeah please. I had to escape from icky-Vicki. She makes my skin crawl half the time" he says and I laugh at his nickname for her.

"She can't be that bad surely?" I say to him as we walk to the kitchen.

"Yeah she can. She's always just floating around in the background, waiting to pounce or something. I don't know. I don't trust her though; I reckon she's up to something. She's a master manipulator that girl."

I laugh at Bradie's description and shake my head.

"I think you're making things up now" I say to him as I pour his tea and my coffee before taking a seat at the kitchen bench.

"I'm not. Trust me. She's up to something sketchy" he says before taking a sip of his drink. "So where's Andy any how?"

"Sleeping, he didn't get much last night so I told him to have a lay down before. I've got to wake him though at three before I go and get the kids."

We talk a little bit more before I stand and walk to the bedroom to wake Andy. He's fast asleep and I sit on the bed next to him, stroking his head and saying his name. He slowly comes awake and rolls onto his back to stretch.

"Ow! Fuck that hurts" he says as he puts his arms immediately to his side.

"Are your ribs sore" I ask him.

"Yeah, I keep forgetting I can't stretch like that" he says, blinking a few times.

"It's three o'clock. I'm going to walk down to the bus stop in about fifteen minutes to get the kids. Are you coming?" I say to him.

"Yeah, I might have a quick shower if that's okay."

"Go for it. Bradie's here too and Vicki called by earlier asking for you as well" I tell him.

"Oh, what did Vic say?" he says, sitting up and giving me his full attention for the first time since I walked in the room.

"Just that she was going to ask if you want to go for a ride on her bike and if you can call her when you get a chance" I tell him.

"Alright, if she's at Mum and Dad's I might call over and see her after we get back" he says standing up.

I stand too and say "See you in a minute" to him as I leave the bedroom.

When I walk to the kitchen Bradie is standing next to the bench, it appears as though he's waiting for me.

"Hey, he's up, just taking a quick shower though."

"Okay, well I might head home for a while. Did you tell him Vicki was looking for him?" he says as he starts to head towards the front door.

"Yeah I did. He said he might call over when we come back from the bus stop" I tell him.

"Okay, are you going to come over too?" he asks me as I open the door for him.

"Maybe, we'll see whether the kids have any homework or not first. I'll see you later on Bradie" I say as he steps down on to the path outside.

"Thanks for the tea Elle, see you" he says as he walks away.

I go back to the kitchen and tidy up the sink and rinse the cups. Andy comes out dressed in jeans and a shirt.

"Feel better?" I ask him, putting my arms around his waist in a light cuddle.

"Yeah, much better now. Are you ready to go?" he says and I nod in reply. Grabbing my keys, we walk out the front and down the sidewalk to the bus stop.

We wait for about three minutes and the bus pulls up. The kids come bounding off and greet Andy before they say hi to me. Lilly gives him a hug and Max waits his turn before giving him a fist bump.

As the bus pulls away I notice a few older kids hanging their heads out the windows watching us all.

After the kids have given me a hug each we make the journey back to the house to unpack bags and start homework.

When Andy announces that he's going next door to see Vicki I can't help but wonder why he didn't ask if I was coming with him.

"Okay then, I'm going to help the kids with their homework" I say to him as he nods and heads out the door.

I'm left wondering why there was no kiss goodbye, no 'see you soon', no affection.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter nine

I continue helping the twins with their homework until five o'clock and then start on dinner. The kids pack up their mess and put it away then I ask Lilly to run a bath while I peel the veggies.

I hear Vicki's motor bike start from next door and wonder if Andy really is going for a ride. Surely his ribs are too sore to be hanging on the back of a motorbike. Not to mention the fact he's getting over a concussion. I wait a little while longer but he doesn't show up.

I really don't want to hassle him about it so I decide to text Bradie and see if Andy's still over there.

He replies shortly after with _no, he went with the dragon for a ride._

I send a quick thank you and put my phone back on the bench.

I try not to think about what he and Vicki are doing so I put my headphones in and switch my mp3 player on and focus on making dinner. When everything is done and the meat is in the oven baking I decide to go have a quick shower before dinner.

I check on Lilly and Max and they are both settled down watching TV.

"I'm just going to have a quick shower okay?" I say to them and they both nod.

I head for the ensuite and quickly strip and shower. I'm only under the water for five minutes or so before I hop back out and go in search of my flannelette pyjamas since the weather had turned cold.

When I'm all snug and warm I put my slippers on and go back out to check on dinner. I open the oven and see that it's almost ready, maybe another ten minutes more. I hope Andy's back in time since I don't want his dinner ruined.

I close the door to the oven and turn the veggies on to heat them. As I'm pulling plates out of the cupboard and about to set the table my phone buzzes with a message.

_Grabbing dinner with Vicki. Be home later. X_

I let a sigh out and put one of the plates back in the cupboard. I guess we'll have plenty of left-overs tomorrow now. Well, unless I ask if Bradie wants to come over.

I pick my phone back up and dial his number. He answers on the second ring.

"_Hey Elle, what can I do for?" he says._

"_Hey Bradie, I just got a text from Andy saying he won't be home for dinner. I've already made it though so I was wondering if you wanted to come over."_

"_Yeah, that'd be great. Mum and Dad nicked off earlier with Chris so I was fending for myself anyhow" he says._

"_Well, it's almost ready so come on over."_

"_Be there is a sec" he says and hangs up._

I pull the plate back out from the cupboard and start dishing dinner up. I hear Bradie knock on the front door and I sing out to Lilly to open it for him.

He gives her a hug as he comes in and says hi to Max as well.

"How come you're here?" Lilly asks him.

"Well, since Andy isn't going to be home for dinner, your Mum asked me if I wanted to help eat all the food she'd made."

"Where's Andy?" Max asks him.

"I think he went out with Vicki for a ride on her bike. They're probably both hungry so they decided to get something to eat while they were out and about. I bet it won't be as good as your Mum's cooking though" he says and the kids shake their heads.

"Mum makes the best dinners" Max tells him. "You haven't had the lasagne yet have you Bradie?"

"One day I will, and I can't wait either" Bradie replies.

"Come on you lot, dinner's ready" I say to them all as they stand and make their way to the dinner table.

We all sit down and Bradie sits where Andy would normally sit. We start eating and are enjoying the change of company when my phone buzzes again.

I stand and retrieve it and check the message from Andy.

_Did you get that last message? You didn't reply. Are you okay?_

_I'm fine. Bradie is here having dinner with us. See you when you get home._

I send him my reply and sit back down again, putting my phone on the table beside me.

"Everything okay?" Bradie asks me.

"Yeah, fine. Just letting Andy know you're over for dinner. I think he might have thought I was annoyed with him so he was asking me if I was okay."

"Oh, is it okay that I'm here?" he asks me.

"Of course it is. I wouldn't have asked you over if I didn't want you to be here."

"Okay then" he says.

"Have you and Andy sorted out your differing opinions yet?" I ask him.

He takes a bite of his steak and shakes his head no.

When he finishes his mouthful and swallows he says "We haven't really had a chance to talk properly since the accident. Vicki pretty much didn't leave his side when he was in hospital so I couldn't talk to him then, then he came home, slept, saw Vicki then disappeared."

"Well I hope you two work this out soon. I don't like seeing either of you upset" I say before focussing on my dinner again and pushing aside my hurt at the whole Andy/Vicki situation.

When we've all finished I begin to clear the table and Bradie helps me with the dishes. The kids are watching the Simpsons so I take the opportunity to ask him more about Vicki whilst he's helping me.

"So how long have Andy and Vicki known each other then?" I ask.

"Since pre-school I think. He already knew her before I came along. They were best mates for ages, always hung out together at school. She even lived near our house for a while and she'd come over every weekend practically."

"Really? They were that close?" I say.

"Yeah, she was a real tom-boy when we were kids. Always getting into fights and getting grounded for stealing stuff. She was a little rebel without a cause for ages there. Then she seemed to turn into a young woman over night practically and started to change her attitude to Andy. Any one else could see she had the hots for him but he was blind to it. He still thought of her as his best mate rather than a potential 'mate.' She tried for ages to get his attention, changing her wardrobe, wearing make up, and even stopped playing the drums there for a while too."

"She's a drummer? Oh great, this just gets better and better" I say.

"Trust me Elle, she has nothing on you. You're a lady, something that she doesn't know the meaning of" Bradie says.

I smile at him and say thanks.

"So why do you think she's come back all of a sudden then? What I mean to say is, how come I've never heard of her before now?"

"I don't know, but I'm betting it's got something to do with the fact that you're on the scene now. Maybe she read somewhere or someone told her that Andy was with you and things were serious. It's been splashed all over the net lately by the tweenies that he's got a serious girlfriend. She probably saw that and came running."

"Are you serious? It's actually on the net?"

"Yeah, haven't you looked on Facebook or Twitter lately? They're all trying to work out where you came from and how long it will last."

"They don't know who I am though do they?"I ask him

"I think there may be a few pics floating around but nothing with your name I don't think" he replies.

I pull the plug from the kitchen sink and take the tea towel from Bradie and hang it over the oven door handle.

"Do you want a cup of tea?" I ask him.

"If you're having a drink, yeah that'd be great" he says and I put the kettle on.

After they are poured we both sit at the kitchen table and talk about the tour in July that's coming up.

When eight o'clock comes around I stand and get the kids into bed. Bradie says goodnight to them as well and we go back out to the lounge room.

"I might head home too, unless you want me to wait with you for Andy?" he says.

"No, it's fine Bradie. I might actually jump on the net and see what's been happening lately since I seem to be so out of touch with things."

"Alright then. Thanks so much for dinner Elle, it was lovely."

I follow Bradie to the front door and open it for him.

"You're very welcome Bradie. It's always nice to have you over."

"Good night Elle" he says as he walks backwards down the path, gives me a little wave and turns for home.

I close the door and go grab my laptop before settling in on the couch to do some surfing.

An hour later and I've had enough of what I've read. The tweenies are in a little uproar about Andy having a girlfriend and are speculating on what she's like. They are such cruel little buggers at times that I just can't stand to read any more of it.

I shut it down and close it before storing it back in its bag.

Still no word from Andy and it's nearing nine thirty. I decide to grab my book and read in bed for a while. I grab my phone also and turn off all the lights except the little one over the stove in the kitchen so Andy can see when he comes in.

I turn my bedside lamp on and go and brush my teeth and apply my moisturiser before returning to climb in my bed. I grab my book and start to read.

It's nearly eleven when I finish it and still no sign of Andy. I give up on waiting for him and switch the lamp off and curl up in the bed.

It seems vastly empty and I grab his pillow and cuddle it to my chest to try to comfort myself enough to fall asleep.

Later on I stir as I feel movement next to me and raise my head to check the clock. It's a little before four am and Andy is just crawling into bed now. I roll on my side, facing away from him and he cuddles into the back of me. I can smell alcohol on his breath and I resist my intense need to chastise him for drinking when he's recovering from concussion. I'm not his mother, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't want me acting like it either.

I close my eyes and try to go back to sleep but find myself laying there, wide awake, listening to Andy's snores. I'm a bit annoyed that he didn't get home till early hours of the morning and even more annoyed by the fact he spent the night out with another girl, even if she's his best friend.

I have to stop this possessive crap and leave him be. I trust him not to do anything, especially after the whole 'Julie' incident. But in saying that, I can't help but wonder if what Bradie says about Vicki is true, that she's manipulating things and is scheming something.

I switch my alarm off a minute before it goes off and silently crawl out of bed and into the shower to wake myself up.

When I'm dressed I close the bedroom door behind me and go out into the kitchen. For some reason I'm starving and decide that French toast is in order this morning. I'm halfway through cooking when Max emerges beside me.

"Morning little guy, are you hungry?" I ask him.

"Yeah, I am Mummy. Lilly's up too okay?" he says.

"Alright mate. I'll call you when breakfast is ready" I tell him and he wanders into the lounge room.

When it's done I sing out to Max and Lilly and join them at the table for breakfast. When they've finished I ask them to get dressed for school whilst I clear the table and do the dishes.

When it's time to walk down to the bus stop I gather their bags and we head outside. I see Tom out the front on his way to work and I give him a wave. He smiles and waves back before getting in his car.

We get to the bus stop and when the bus pulls up I stand and wait for it to pull away before turning and walking home again.

When I get inside the house again I realise that I got all of my chores done yesterday so I could spend the day with Andy. Since I know he won't be waking up any time soon I grab my car keys and decide to do some shopping in the mean time.

I pull into the car park of the Woolworths supermarket, grab a trolley and start my groceries. I decide to do some baking today whilst I wait for sleeping beauty to wake and grab a heap of ingredients to make biscuits and a cake. I also decide that I should be making soup now too since it's cooler weather and grab a heap more veggies.

When I have paid for the food I pack everything in my car and start the drive home again. It's a little after ten when I pull in and Bradie is on my doorstep waiting. I climb out and he comes over with a smile on his face.

"Morning Elle, do you need a hand" he says as he sees me grabbing the grocery bags from the boot.

"Yeah, that'd be great thanks. What are you doing over here so early?" I ask him.

"I was hoping to catch Andy before Vicki sinks her hooks into him again" he says.

"I'm afraid they didn't get home until around four this morning so I doubt we'll see him until after lunch sometime now" I tell him.

"Vicki came home around midnight though" Bradie says. "I ran into her in the hallway and asked her if she had a good night."

"Really? Well where was Andy then?" I say.

"No idea. I assumed he was home with you. Vicki's up already but. You could ask her about her night maybe?" he says grabbing some bags and following me into the house.

"No it's fine. I'm sure he'll tell me later on" I say.

After all the food is inside and I've unpacked it all I start chopping veggies for the soup I'm making before mixing up a biscuit batter.

"Are you in a cooking mood today?" Bradie asks me from his side of the bench where he's sitting sipping his tea.

"Yeah, I get that way sometimes. Besides, I caught up on everything yesterday so I'd have a free day to spend with Andy. But with him sleeping it off this morning I had nothing better to do."

"Sleeping what off?" I hear Andy say as he staggers into the kitchen in his boxers and a t-shirt.

"Morning, how are you feeling?" I ask him as he wanders in and switches the kettle on.

"I'm okay, just a headache I guess. What are you two talking about anyhow?" he says as I start spooning the batter onto the baking trays before putting them into the oven.

"Bradie was asking me why I was doing so much cooking today. I was telling him how you were still sleeping off your big night" I say to him.

"What big night? I was home by midnight. I sat up watching TV for a bit because I wasn't very tired since I slept most of the afternoon yesterday. I had a couple of drinks to make me sleepy but that was it" he says to me.

"Oh well, sorry honey, my mistake. Do you want some breakfast or I guess lunch now?" I ask him, ashamed of myself for assuming the worst instead of asking him.

"What are you making anyhow?"

"I've got a veggie soup cooking at the moment and I'm making some Anzac biscuits and I'm going to make a cake too. I can make you a sandwich or something? It's nice outside in the sun, you two could sit out the back and have lunch whilst I finish up my cooking?" I say, mindful of the reason Bradie is here.

"Sounds good, I'll just go put some clothes on" Andy says before going back into the bedroom.

"Thanks Elle, I appreciate that" Bradie says to me.

"Any time, I don't like seeing you two angry with each other. How about you go outside and I'll bring lunch out in a minute" I tell him as he nods and heads out the back door.

I'm halfway through making the sandwiches when Andy comes back out again. He gives my forehead a kiss and I ask him to wait out the back with Bradie while I finish up.

When they're made I take a plateful out to the guys and give them a can of soft drink each as well before promptly turning and heading back inside again to let them talk out their problems.

I mix up the cake and pour it into a round pan and put it in the oven as I pull the tray of biscuits out. I take them off the tray and put them onto a wire cooling rack.

After ten minutes of cooling I put six on a plate and take them out to the guys before returning with the empty sandwich plate. They seem to be deep in conversation so I leave them be; only smiling at them before turning away again.

When the timer goes off I take the cake out of the oven to let it cool. I'm standing in the kitchen twiddling my thumbs waiting on Bradie and Andy when there's a knock at the front door. I wander over to answer it and I'm greeted by Vicki. She's smiling big and it instantly puts me on my guard.

"Afternoon Vicki, what can I do for you?" I ask her.

"Is Andy here?" she asks me.

"He is but him and Bradie are having a bit of a chat with each other at the moment. It's probably not a good time to disturb them" I tell her.

"Oh, okay. He said we'd be going for a ride this afternoon again and I was wondering if he was ready or not."

"Oh well, I don't know about that. Um, I guess you should come inside then and ask."

"Thanks" she says as she pushes her way past me.

"They're out the back at the moment" I say to her. "Can I offer you a drink or something?"

"No thanks, I'm fine" she says as she wanders through my house and out the back door.

I follow her and say "look who's here" as I come out behind her.

"Oh hey Vicki, are you ready to go?" Andy says.

I shoot him a questioning look but he just simply smiles and says "Vicki's taking me for another ride down the coastline, I hope you don't mind."

"Oh well, no, that's fine, you enjoy yourself" I say to him and follow it with a big smile.

"We're done here anyhow" Andy says as he stands and leaves the table before giving me a kiss on the forehead again. "I'll see you at dinner time, promise" he says as he follows Vicki through the back door and out of the house leaving me standing there like a stunned mullet.

"Are you okay?" Bradie asks me. I turn and look at him and give him a half smile.

"I'm sure I'll be fine" I say to him, not believing a word of it.

"Well, since you have another hour or so before you have to get the kids, how about you come for a drive with me to the video store? I want to rent some more 3D movies" he says.

"Um, yeah, okay, I guess I could use the distraction" I say to him as I grab the empty plate off the back table and take it inside to the kitchen.

I grab my bag, keys and phone and follow Bradie outside, locking the front door behind me in the process.

I climb in the passenger side of Bradie's car and he starts it and reverses out of the driveway.

We're half way to the store before Bradie speaks up.

"So I think we have everything sorted out between Andy and I. Hopefully he realises that I see you as more of a sister than as a girlfriend, I hope you're not offended by that by the way" he tells me.

"No, not at all. Actually I was thinking the other day, you remind me a lot of my brother which is probably why I feel so at ease around you all the time" I tell him smiling.

"I'm glad you feel that way too. So as your unofficial brother, I just want to say that I really want to smack Andy at the moment around the back of the head for treating you like shit for the last two days. I honestly don't know what has gotten into him. It's like he's forgotten that he's living with you as your partner and instead thinks of himself as a boarder."

"I'm sure it won't last long, well I hope it won't anyhow" I tell him.

We get to the video shop and browse through the titles. It turns out that Bradie is as indecisive as my brother and I have to remind him of the time in the end to get us out of there.

We pull into the driveway and climb out.

"I've got to get to the bus stop, are you coming?" I ask him.

"Yeah, sure, I'll go for a walk with you" he says and locks his car.

We amble down the sidewalk to the stop and have a seat whilst waiting.

When the bus pulls in I hear the driver Denise apply the handbrake and open the doors. She follows the kids down the steps and approaches me.

"Hi Denise, what's up?" I say as the kids come and stand behind me. I notice that Max has his head down and is not looking at either Bradie or I.

"I just wanted a quick word, I had to issue Max with a warning today for his behaviour on the bus" she says.

I'm pretty sure the look on my face matches the shock that's registering in my brain. "What happened?" I ask her.

"Max got into a bit of a scuffle with one of the older kids. I think they were saying some not very nice things to him and he's reacted pretty violently. I think the other kid might end up with a black eye from what I can see."

I'm so shocked by this that I'm unsure what to say. He's never been violent, ever.

I shoot a quick glance at Max but he's still hanging his head. "Who was the other kid and what did they say?" I ask Denise.

"It was an older boy, in grade seven but I don't know what he said and Max won't tell me" she says, lowering her voice.

"Alright, well I appreciate you telling me Denise and it won't be happening again, I promise you" I say.

"I know that it's out of character for Max, which makes me think that the other kid said something pretty bad. I didn't want to but I have to give him an official warning."

"I understand Denise" I say as she smiles and says goodbye to us all before boarding the bus again and driving away.

Bradie is looking at me, waiting for a reaction I gather. I glance at him and say "Bradie do you think you could take Lilly home for me please? I just need a moment with Max."

"Yeah sure thing Elle. Come on Lilly, you should see the cookies and cake your mum made today" he says to her and her little face seems to brighten at the prospect of sharing cake with Bradie.

"Max, lets sit down for a minute" I say to him as we both sit on the bench seat.

"What happened?" I ask him.

He's quiet for a little bit, his head down and I can see the frown on his face.

"It's okay Max, you can tell me" I say to him and he glances up at me.

"Jake was saying bad things about you and Andy. He was calling you both rude words and then he said some horrible things about Short Stack and said that Andy was my new mummy because he used to wear make up and use hairspray. Then he said that you could be my daddy if you got your hair cut short because you go to work and Andy doesn't."

I can see where this is going now.

"I'm sorry Mummy. I got so mad at him and he was going to start picking on Lilly then so I just punched him as hard as I could. I said sorry as soon as I did it though. I didn't mean to hit him so hard but he just made me so angry."

I pull him to me and cuddle him as I see him start to get upset.

"Settle down mate okay. It's going to be okay" I tell him, trying to calm him down.

"Look at me please. It's never okay to hit anyone. You know that. Next time, just tell Denise okay? Ignore him and then walk away, even if he starts to call you names. Alright?"

He gives me a nod and we both stand.

"Come on, lets get home before Bradie and Lilly eat all the biscuits and cake" I say to him.

He smiles as we start to walk but then a small frown crosses his face. "Where's Andy Mum?" he says.

I try to keep the smile on my face, I really do. But it falters as I reply, "he's out with Vicki."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter ten

When we arrive back at the house Bradie and Lilly are waiting on the front steps for us. I pull my keys out and unlock the door before letting everyone enter.

The kids rush to the kitchen to see what I've made and Bradie ambles along behind them.

I ask the twins to unpack their bags and put their things away whilst I pour them both some milk and make them a plate each with a slice of cake and a biscuit.

I make another one for Bradie too and put the kettle on for his tea and my coffee. When we are all seated at the table the kids start talking about their day at school.

We're talking about the up coming sports carnival when my phone beeps, signalling a text.

I pull it out of my pocket and open the message from Andy.

_Won't be home until after eight now, stopped in to see some friends. X_

I can't help the frown that immediately appears on my face and Bradie notices it immediately.

"What's wrong?" he says.

"Oh nothing" I reply, giving him a half smile.

"He's not coming home until late again is he?" he says.

I shake my head and drink my coffee.

When the kids have finished I send them off to the living room so I can speak to Bradie in private.

"Is Andy always this enraptured when she's around?" I ask him.

"No not usually. I have the feeling she might be encouraging it a bit though. Like I said before Elle, I don't trust her."

"Well, what do I do then? I can't tell him to stay home or to ignore her. I realise she's only here for a little while but he's practically ignoring me at the moment."

"Why don't you just mention to him that it feels like ages since you've seen him?" Bradie suggests.

"But I don't want him to think I'm whining about him seeing his friend, you know? I don't know what to do really."

"I can't help you I'm afraid. If I was in his shoes I'd be making sure my girlfriend was included and not excluded, if you know what I mean" Bradie says.

I nod and smile at him but get lost in my thoughts of inadequacy again. I'm interrupted when Bradie clears his throat. I look at him and he's staring at me.

"How about we go out for dinner tonight, just to take your mind off things for a bit?" he asks me.

"That's a nice idea but it's a school night" I say to him.

"Yeah, I know. I was only thinking of taking you all to Hungry Jacks or something so the kids can have a play afterwards. It's up to you though."

I think about it and decide that I really don't feel like cooking anyhow. "Yeah, okay why not."

"Great. I'll head home and have a shower and I'll be back by six if that's okay?" he asks me.

"Yeah, that's fine. I'll see you then" I say, standing and walking him to the door.

I lock it behind him and go and get the kids organised. They are excited about going out for dinner and race to their rooms to get changed out of their uniforms.

I have a quick shower while they are getting dressed and when I get out I throw on some jeans and a t-shirt and jacket. I don't worry about make up and I throw my hair up into a messy bun.

When I come back out the kids are both dressed and playing the WII. It's only five thirty so I potter around in the kitchen for a bit whilst we wait for Bradie to return.

While I'm wiping down the benches I start to think about the last time that Andy and I had slept together. I actually can't quite remember when it was, if I'm honest with myself. I think back over the last week and realise that it was Wednesday or Thursday. That can't be right can it?

We've had a pretty eventful week or so when I think about it. What with Easter then Andy's birthday, then Julie ruining the night. Follow that up with my trip to the Gold Coast and then home again, Andy moving in, Bradie and Alice breaking up then Andy's accident. Holy crap! Why can't I just have a quiet life?

No wonder we haven't been in each other's pants of late. We've been too busy with all this other crap. I make a mental resolve to give that man some loving tonight. I think we are both in serious need of some stress relief and what better way than that?

I hear a knock on the front door and sing out "Come in" knowing it's only Bradie. He opens the door and comes inside dressed in jeans and a nice shirt.

"We're ready to go I think" I say to him as I gather my things. "Grab a jacket each kids" I tell them and they run to their rooms to grab one.

I walk over to Bradie and say "Thanks again Bradie for this. I really can't be bothered cooking tonight."

"No problems Elle" he replies as the kids return.

We all file out and climb into my car and head for the nearest Hungry Jacks. I really don't think much of their food but they have the best playground for the kids, and they are usually the deciding factor in anything I do.

When we walk inside we make our way to the counter.

"Why don't you tell me what you guys want and go find a table while I get it?" Bradie says.

"Okay" I say and we give him our orders. I find a booth and climb in it. The kids ask me if they can go play whilst we wait and I nod my head.

I pull my phone out and check it for messages while I'm waiting for Bradie. I pull up my email account too and check that while I wait. I see I have another email from mum and I open it and start to read it.

She's letting me know that Carol and Jim had been in contact again with her and that they want me to ring them when I can. She's left me the number, even though I have it anyhow and also says that she thinks they want to visit the kids.

I close the email and make a note on my phone to ring them tomorrow.

I look up to see Bradie making his way to the table with a tray full of food and drinks. He's even bought the kids sundaes from the look of it which brings a smile to my face.

I move my things out of the way so he can put the tray on the table.

"I'll just get the kids" I say as I slide over on the seat.

"No, stay there, I'll get them" he says as he turns and heads outside to get the kids.

I start to dish out the food and drinks as Bradie comes back in with the kids. He sits next to Lilly on the other seat and Max slides in next to me.

"Thankyou so much for this" I say to Bradie with a smile.

"Anytime Elle" he says as he picks up a fry and starts chewing on it.

Half way through our meal and a couple of girls approach the table.

I quickly put my head down and pretend to fiddle with my phone, hoping they don't know who I am.

They ask Bradie for an autograph and a photo and Lilly has to slide out of the way so he can get out of the booth.

"Thanks Lilly" he says to her as she stands and waits for him to finish. I hear the girls ask Bradie if Lilly is his sister and he seems to ignore the question and deflects their attention by asking them if they are coming to the concerts in July. They talk a little while longer before Bradie say thankyou and slides back into the booth, signally the end of their conversation. Lilly slides back in and smiles at him before saying "Do you do that a lot?"

"Nah, not really" he says as he goes back to eating his meal.

When we've finished the kids want to play again. I glance at my watch and see it's only seven thirty and Andy said he wouldn't be home until after eight anyhow.

"Yeah, go on then. You've got fifteen minutes then we're heading home okay?" I ask them.

"Okay mum."

I watch as they run off and start to play with the other kids.

"Do you want to sit outside?" Bradie asks me and we both slide out and stand.

"I might grab a coffee actually, do you want a drink?" I ask him.

"A cappuccino would be a nice change" he says.

"Sure thing, you go grab us a seat and I'll be out in sec" I say as I head to the counter.

I place an order for two cappuccinos and wait for the young girl to get them for me. When she brings them to the counter she smiles and asks me if that's Bradie Webb I'm with. I nod my head and say "yeah, he's my neighbour" as I take the drinks and head outside to sit with him.

"Here you go" I say, handing him his cup and a couple of packets of sugar.

We both add the sweetener to our drinks and take a sip.

"You know, I think I've seen more of you lately than Andy has" he says before quickly adding "not that I'm complaining or anything."

"Yeah I was thinking the same thing earlier on actually. We've all had a busy week or so."

"It feels like months really doesn't it?" Bradie says.

I nod as I take a sip.

"It would be really nice to just have a bit of normalcy for a little while" I say.

"Yeah, that would be good. Especially since we have the tour coming up soon, we'll have to do some more rehearsals soon. I think we have a promo to do soon as well."

"How long is Vicki here for?" I ask him.

"Another two weeks or so I think" he says.

I roll my eyes and look back at the playground. I'm watching Max playing with the other kids while he keeps and eye on Lilly when I realise that I haven't even told Andy about how he was in a fight today.

"I wonder what Andy's going to say about that little fight that Max had" I wonder out loud.

"Knowing Andy, he'll probably be proud of him for sticking up for you all."

"He's never got into a fight before though. I mean, he's not even an aggressive type of kid really. I don't know what's come over him."

"Maybe it's because of the last week or so of events? It might be influencing him a bit?" Bradie says.

"Yeah, maybe" I say, deep in thought.

I finish my coffee and stand to throw the cup in the bin. Bradie does the same and I call out to Max and Lilly so we can head home.

We file out of the restaurant and into the car park. I unlock the car and we all climb in and make the drive home again.

When we get there, Bradie says goodnight in the driveway to us all. We wave as he walks home and I go to unlock the front door only to discover it's already unlocked.

I cautiously open it and look inside. I see Andy in the kitchen and realise he's left it unlocked for us.

I open the door wide and we file inside with the kids entering the kitchen and saying hello to Andy.

"Hey, you're home" I say as I glance to the kitchen clock and see that it's only just gone eight o'clock.

"Yeah, we got back a little while ago. Where have you guys been?" he asks me as I reach him and give him a kiss.

"Bradie took us to Hungry Jacks for dinner" I tell him.

I see his face harden a little and immediately regret mentioning Bradie this early on in the conversation.

"Oh, was he over again was he?" he says, with a slight touch of sarcasm in his voice.

"Yeah, he came with me to the bus stop to pick the kids up" I tell him.

"Oh okay."

"So how was your ride with Vicki?" I ask him in an effort to point out that I'm not the only one hanging with someone else at the moment. I think he knows what I'm meaning because I see his face change a little.

"Yeah it was good. We called in and saw Sonny and said hello then I asked if we could head home again. I missed you" he says as he puts his arms around me.

"I missed you too" I tell him, returning his cuddle.

"Mum, is it bed time?" I hear Max sing out from the lounge room.

"In a little bit mate, why's that?" I ask him as I let go of Andy and wander toward the lounge.

"I was just wondering" he says as he makes himself comfortable on the couch.

It reminds me that I haven't had a chance to tell Andy what happened this afternoon on the bus and I turn and go back to the kitchen.

"You want to join me out the back for a beer?" I ask him.

"Yeah sure" he says and follows me out.

I grab two bottles from the fridge and sit down next to him at the table.

"I wanted to tell you something that happened to Max today" I say, twisting off the cap of my beer and putting it on the table.

I take a sip and then tell Andy about the fight on the bus.

When I'm finished I take another gulp of my beer and wait for his response.

"Do you want me to talk to him about fighting?" he asks me.

"Only if you really want to, I mean, I don't expect you to take on the 'daddy' role here. You're my boyfriend, not the replacement dad. But as my boyfriend, if you think that you can help with this situation, by all means, yeah, go for it."

"I think I will actually. I hate nothing more than bullying, copped my fair share of it in school as well. I've got thick skin these days but when older kids start picking on him because of me, then it's got to be dealt with."

"Alright then, well you'll probably want to do it now then, before bed because it's unlikely you'll be up in the morning early enough to see him before school" I say to him.

"Yeah, good point" he says as we both finish our drinks and stand to go inside.

"I'll put Lilly to bed and meet you in the bedroom" I say to him as we go to the lounge room.

After Lilly is tucked in I go to my ensuite and brush my hair and my teeth before digging out a chemise to wear until Andy comes in. I climb onto the bed and switch the radio on to listen while I wait.

Ten minutes later and he enters the room and closes the door behind him. He strips his shirt off and flops down on the bed next to me.

"So how'd it go?" I ask him, rolling on to my side and lightly trailing my fingers up and down his chest.

"Alright I think. I just explained to him about bullies and why the say the things they do. I also asked him to tell me the next time someone picks on him because of me or the band."

I nod my head and concentrate on the feeling of his chest under my fingers.

"That is so nice" he says to me, smiling. "It feels like forever that we've just relaxed and enjoyed each other like this."

"I know. I was thinking that today actually. It's about time that we spent a bit of quality time together, if you get my meaning" I say with a wink.

His grin grows wider as he puts a hand on my hip and pulls me over on top of him.

"You do realise that since I'm injured you're going to have to take it easy on me?" he says.

"I know this" I say as I sit up, straddling his lap and running my fingers up and down his chest.

I lean over and kiss his lips gently, once then twice before sitting up again and crawling off his lap. I undo his button –up jeans and pull them down his legs and throwing them on the floor. His boxers are next and they land right beside the jeans.

I crawl back up the bed, running my fingernails up his legs as I go and resume my earlier position on his lap. His hands come to my thighs and run up and under my chemise to my hips. I grab the bottom of my chemise and pull it up and over my head revealing my bare body to him.

His hands caress my breasts as I feel him harden underneath me. I lean forward again, mindful of his ribs as I draw his bottom lip into my mouth and suck gently.

His mouth finds mine and his hands find my ass as he pulls me impossibly closer to him. I feel the stress and frustrations of the past week being pushed aside as I enjoy the sensations that my body is feeling under his touch.

When he enters me I take control and sit back up again, enjoying the fullness I feel when we are this close. I slowly move with him as my body is gradually tightening with the sensations. His hands find my breasts and caress me as I continue to ride atop him. I lean back slightly more and feel my insides tingle and begin to clench. When my body bursts into orgasm I fall forward resting on my hands and continue to move my hips in time with his as he comes with me.

I lay atop him, with my body propped up on my hands so that I don't hurt him as I try to catch my breath. I can feel his fingers running up and down my back as he is also coming down off that beautiful high that we both experienced.

I lean down again and kiss him before climbing off him and heading into the ensuite to clean up. After I've finished in the ensuite I go back out to where Andy is still laying, smiling like the Cheshire cat.

"You okay?" I say as I climb on the bed next to him.

"Oh yeah, I'm great" he says as he turns his head and quickly kisses me. "Back in a minute" he says as he races into the bathroom.

When he returns he's wrapped in a towel and holds a finger to his lips for me to be quiet. I just stare as he opens the bedroom door and disappears. When he comes back in and shuts the door I see he has a tub of ice cream and two spoons. Seems someone gets the munchies after procreation.

He hands me a spoon and peels off the lid before digging in himself.

We eat the rest of the container before we commence round two of the "lets make up for the past week" sex session.

It was about three thirty when I awoke with the shock of realising we didn't use a condom at all.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter eleven

It's impossible for me to get back to sleep after that thought popped into my head. What the hell was I thinking? Obviously I was thinking "yay, I'm getting laid" and not "Oi, woman, birth-control".

What an idiot. I give up at four thirty and crawl out of bed, grabbing my dressing gown as I leave the bedroom and go to the kitchen to make a coffee.

I grab my diary out while I wait for the kettle and check when my last period was. I count back the days and try to work out if I'm at risk at the moment or not. I can't be sure but I think I'm okay. I might have to make a trip to the chemist though to find out about a morning-after pill. Do I need a script for that? Oh God. How careless and stupid of me!

Whilst I'm beating myself up over the whole "unprotected sex" argument I pour my coffee and pull out my laptop. I decide to do a bit of research on the whole morning after pill whilst I have the privacy and time to do so.

I discover that there is a version that is available over the counter at the pharmacy. Well thank goodness for that. I don't have a regular pharmacy that I go to either so that will be good. I think to myself "never, ever, let that happen again" and sip my coffee whilst I log onto twitter.

I'm tweeting to the few English people that I sometimes converse with on Twitter when I suddenly realise that I was taking the blame for not thinking of birth control, when rightfully, it should have been both of us. I guess we should look at something more permanent since Andy is living with me now.

Due to a reaction I have to some of the ingredients in the pill, I can't take that method. Maybe I should make a doctors appointment tomorrow and see what else there is. I have no idea whether Andy wants kids or not but at this incredibly early stage of our relationship, I highly doubt it!

I muck around on twitter a little while longer until I see the sun breach the horizon and stream in through the lounge room window. I close my laptop and stand and take my cup to the sink. I have work today and I really should get organised early.

I head to the laundry and put a load of washing on before looking in on the kids. It's nearly quarter to seven and they should be stirring by now. Sure enough Max is awake and reading and Lilly is just coming around. I tell them both that I'm about to start breakfast and they crawl out of bed and follow me to the kitchen.

I make them both porridge and make their lunches for school too.

I even put a slice of cake on a plate for Andy and leave it on the bench covered in cling wrap. After I have finished pottering around I write a note to leave with the cake for him.

_Hey honey,_

_Just thought you might like some cake with your coffee since you missed out on some yesterday. I'm working in the shop today to catch up on things but I hope you have a lovely day and I'll be thinking of you._

_Love you_

_Elle x_

I fold the paper in half and leave it tucked under the plate.

I glance at the clock before sending the kids off to get dressed for school as I pack their school bags for them.

When I've finished I quickly go and get changed into some old jeans and a t-shirt for the trip to the bus stop.

I wait with the twins and as the bus pulls in I follow them onboard and talk quickly to Denise, explaining that both Andy and I had spoken to Max about his behaviour. She is satisfied by this and I step off again, waving as the bus pulls away from the curb.

I glance at my watch and see I'm running a bit behind time. I break into a job and make my way back home. When I enter the house I drop my keys on the bench before heading for a quick shower to rinse off from last night's debauchery. When I step out again I quietly get dressed before bending and kissing Andy's forehead, careful not to disturb him.

I go back out to the kitchen grab my things and then lock the front door behind me as I head out to the car.

I pull out of the driveway and make the ten minute drive to work, singing along with Jessie J on the radio as I go.

When I get to the store I park the car on the street and grab my bag and phone before heading inside. I wave hello to Sandra as I head for the office and dump my bag on the ground. I grab the yellow pages off the desk and search for a doctor's surgery. I haven't actually seen a doctor since I've been here and think to myself 'how is this possible?'

Then I remember that the 'accidental' sprains, bruises and sometimes breaks no longer occur.

Sandra sticks her head in the door and I look up at her smiling. Sex sure does put me in a great mood, especially when it's that good.

"Morning Sandra, how are you?" I ask her.

"I'm good Elle. Surprised to see you here though" she says.

"Well, since I didn't come in on Friday, or Monday for that matter I thought it best if I make up my time by starting on the BAS statements."

"Oh okay. What are you looking for there?" she asks me.

"A doctor actually, I haven't been to one yet since I moved and I need to get in to see one. Do you recommend anyone?" I ask her.

"There's a guy just down the street called Dr Simpkins or there is a lady over in Lake Haven as well" she tells me.

I grab the phone book and hand it to her. "Can you show me the one from down the street?" I ask.

"Yeah sure, hang on" she says as she takes the book and flicks through the pages.

She passes it back to me, pointing to an advert. "Budgewoi Medical Centre" she says.

"Alright, thanks Sandra" I tell her.

"No problems. You don't have to work all day either, how about only till one and then you can get going?" she says.

"Thanks Sandra, that'd be great" I tell her.

"How's Andy doing?"

"He's on the mend, thanks" I say as she leaves at the sound of the bell that hangs over the door signalling that someone entered the shop.

I grab my phone out of my bag and dial the number. Five minutes later and I have an appointment for one thirty. As I'm putting my phone away I remember I was supposed to ring Jim and Carole about seeing the kids. Ah, that can wait until after work I decide.

It vibrates in my hand suddenly, signalling a new message and causing me to drop it at the same time.

I grab it off the floor and check the message from Bradie.

_Hey, how are you? Are you home today?_

I quickly send one back to let him know I'm working but finish at one o'clock.

_I might see you this afternoon then _

I put my phone away in my bag and think to myself how I feel slightly disappointed that it was Bradie and not Andy that was asking what I was doing.

What was happening to our relationship? Maybe it was a bad idea asking him to move it with us. It seems to have made us more distant rather than pull us closer together. I don't think it's all Vicki's doing either. I really think there is something else going on there, but I just can't work out what it is.

I dismiss the thought from my mind and open my laptop and concentrate on my work for the time being.

Just before eleven Sandra asks if I want a coffee and I nod my head enthusiastically. I was hanging for a bit of caffeine and she couldn't have asked at a better time.

"Do you want to go and grab a couple of cups? I'll man the fort while you get some air" she says to me and I nod and stand, stretching as I do.

I find my purse in my bag and head out of the store and across the road to the deli. When I walk in Alice is serving a young man so I wait in line behind him. When she's finished with him I approach the counter.

"Hey, long time no see" she says with a cheeky grin on her face.

"Yeah, okay. I know I should have called you but yeah, I have no excuse. Spit in my coffee if you want to" I tell her.

She breaks into a laugh and says "Coffee for you and Sandra?" I nod in reply and let her set about brewing the caffeine saviours.

When she puts the cups on the counter I open my wallet and hand her a $ 10 note. She gives me the change and we discuss the upcoming weekend.

She's going away to visit some friends down near Canberra and asks me if I want to come with her.

"Ah, I'll let you know" I tell her, unsure of what Andy's weekend plans are. Maybe it might do me some good to get away from him, maybe sort out what's going on in my head.

I grab the coffees and head back to work, preoccupied with thoughts of a girl's weekend away with Alice. But what about the twins? I can't leave them at home with Andy, not with Vicki lurking around. She's liable to offload them at a park or playground and convince Andy that they should be looking after themselves by now.

I hand Sandra her cup as I go back into the office and work for the next hour until Sandra says she's going for lunch. I close down the accounts program and start to pack up before going to the front of the store to cover for her. I grab the duster and begin going over the shelves with it to pass the time.

I'm deep in thought when I hear the little bell sound. I look up and see Bradie wandering in followed closely by Andy. I smile when I notice there is no Vicki in tow.

"Hey guys" I say, putting the duster behind the counter. "What brings you here?"

"Well I found him wandering around your backyard, bored out of his mind so I thought we might come see you" Bradie says, pointing to Andy.

Andy steps forward and gives me a light kiss on the mouth. "Hey gorgeous" he says to me. "Do you want to grab some lunch together when you're done?"

"Yeah, sure, that'd be nice actually" I say, smiling broadly at him.

"We're just going to go across and say hi to Alice while we wait okay. You finish at one Bradie tells me" he says and I nod.

"Okay, I'll be back before one" he says and kisses me again before they both leave the store, Bradie shooting me a grin and a wave on his way out.

I grab the duster out again and mull away the time until Sandra returns. When she's finished eating I go out the back again and get my stuff organised. I suddenly remember that my doctor's appointment is for one thirty and I doubt we'll have time for lunch.

I pack up my bag and laptop and head out the front again to wait for Andy. He wanders in just before one and after a quick chat with Sandra, we depart the store.

"I have a doctor's appointment at one thirty so I don't know if we'll be able to get any lunch or not" I tell him.

"Well, how about we just go across the road to the deli and see Bradie and Alice instead? We can grab something to eat there."

"Yeah okay, that sounds good" I tell him.

We cross the road and sit at a table out the front. I tell him what I want to eat and he goes inside to place our order. When he comes out Bradie and Alice are trailing him.

We all sit together and chat whilst waiting on the food. I keep glancing at my watch and I can't help but wonder if I should be asking Andy if he wants to come to the doctor's with me. How do I approach such a subject as "Well Andy, I was wondering if you want kids in the near future with me."

Ah yeah, conversation killer that one!

When the sandwiches arrive I tuck into mine pretty quickly.

"Geez Hon, you're hungry today" Andy says with a grin.

"Yeah, I got up too early and I had breakfast at some ridiculous hour. I'm starving" I tell him.

"So I was telling Elle about this weekend how I planned on going down to Nowra for a girls getaway. What do you think of that idea Andy?" she said, knowing that I hadn't had a chance to say anything to him about it. Maybe this was part of the plan, to get me to go away with her.

"Really? Do you want to go?" he asks me.

"Um, I don't know. I'd have to organise a sitter first and then maybe I would go. I'm not sure yet."

"A sitter? What about me? Aren't I good enough to look after them?" he says with a smirk.

"Well, I honestly thought you'd have something planned with Vicki so I didn't want to intrude on that."

"I have nothing planned actually. I think it would be good for you to go hang with the girls. Bradie and I can look after the twins. And Mum and Dad are right next door if we need them too" he says.

"Ah, well, I'll think about it okay Alice? I'll let you know by tomorrow, I promise" I say before glancing at my watch. "I have my appointment in five minutes, I'd better go."

"I'm coming with you" Andy says, standing with me and rolling up his trash.

"Oh, okay then, we'd better get moving. See you two later" I say to Bradie and Alice as Andy and I cross the street again and walk down to the doctor's surgery.

I push open the glass door as we walk in and greet the receptionist. I tell her my name and she hands me a clipboard with a questionnaire sheet on it. I sit down next to Andy and start to fill everything out. When I'm finished I dig out my Medicare card and take it back to the counter with the form.

I hand it over and take a seat next to Andy again to wait. When the Doctor calls my name I stand and to my surprise, so does Andy. He has absolutely no idea what I'm seeing the doctor about and I'm not sure this is such a good idea.

"Are you sure you want to come in with me?" I ask him.

"Do you not want me to? Does it make you uncomfortable?" he asks me.

"Um, I'm not sure. You don't even know what I'm seeing him for" I say.

"Oh, well, I can wait here if you want me to?"

I weigh it up in my mind and decide that it's probably best that we get all this out in the open now.

"Come on" I say as he follows me down the hall, trailing after the doctor.

We step into his room and he introduces himself to me. He greets Andy by name and I shoot him a look.

"What? Dr Simpkins has been my doctor since I was a kid" he says.

Oh Lord, this just got a bit more complex. How do I ask my live-in boyfriend if he's even contemplating having kids in front of a man who's know him since before he got pubes.

This was just not my day.

"So Elle, what can we do for you today?" he says.

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Well, firstly, I wanted to ask you about the morning after pill and whether it is safe to take and what side effects it has."

I actually hear Andy suck a breath in as I glance towards him; he raises his eyebrows in a questioning look.

"What? We didn't use protection last night and I think it might not have been an ideal time to be playing Russian roulette okay."

"Why didn't you say something to me about this?"

"Well, because you were asleep when I left this morning and then I wasn't exactly going to discuss it over lunch with Alice and your brother sitting right there."

"So you two are boyfriend and girlfriend then?" Dr Simpkins says.

"We've moved in together actually" Andy says, his trademark grin returning, showing just how proud he is that we live together.

"Well, congratulations Andy" Dr Simpkins says. Just then his intercom buzzes and he's called to the front desk.

"I'll be back in a minute" he says, standing and leaving the room.

"So is this why you were seeing the doctor then?" Andy asks me.

"One of the reasons, yeah. I'm also going to ask him about a more permanent contraception since we are living together now."

"What did you have in mind?" he asks me and I tell him of the options I had researched. Most of them were highly effective and lasted for ages, which was a good idea, well so I thought.

"So what if we want to have kids down the track though, will you be able to fall pregnant?" he says.

I swear my jaw hits the table that I'm leaning on. I'm not too sure what to say to this as the doctor choses this moment to come back in.

"So Elle, you were asking about the morning-after pill" he says as he goes on to explain how it works and the various side effects that come with it.

When he's finished he asks me if there is anything else and I decide not to discuss the contraceptive issues just yet, not until Andy and I sit down and discuss this whole issue of having kids.

"Thank you for that" I say as I stand and he hands me the piece of paper with the name of the tablets I need to get written on it.

We file out to the reception area and after I pay for the visit we go next door to the pharmacy to get the tablets.

Armed with a little paper bag and an information leaflet we make our way back to the car in relative silence.

The drive home is quiet, with neither of us willing to spark up a conversation. When I pull into the driveway, we climb out of the car and go inside and stop in the kitchen.

"So, you didn't ask about contraception?" Andy starts.

"Well, I think we should probably talk about the whole reproduction issue. Do you want kids?" I ask him.

"Well, I always saw myself as one day having a couple. You've got to know that I absolutely adore your children but I really hope to have one or maybe two of my own someday. And right now, I see myself having them with you."

"Really?" I say as I feel myself smiling like an idiot. It's so nice to be wanted in such a permanent and positive way.

"Really. I'm being completely serious with you" he says as he grabs me and pulls me closer. "I think we'll make gorgeous babies together" he grins as he kisses me softly.

Well that's definitely food for thought considering I thought I had done all the child-bearing I was meant to do.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter twelve

Our sweet embrace was interrupted by a knock at the front door followed by a whiney voice calling out 'Andrew'.

Nice timing Vicki. Andy lets go of me and unlocks the front door for her, moving aside to let her enter. She glances at me, gives me a half smile and stops and faces Andy.

"So, what are we up to this afternoon then?" she says, beaming as though she won the lottery.

"Actually Vic, I was going to spend the afternoon with Elle. We have a few things we need to do today" he says, blatantly lying his ass off, not that she knows that.

She looks at me again and I give her a sweet smile. She narrows her eyes slightly before looking back at Andy and smiling. "Okay, well if you want to hang out, just give me a call" she says before turning on her heel and marching outside. She's obviously pissed off but, meh, what can you do?

Andy closes the door behind and turns to face me again. "So, we have things we need to do, do we?" I ask him with a grin.

"Yeah" he says as he launches himself at me, "you!" I side-step him and run to the bedroom, squealing as I go.

We walk to the bus stop hand in hand and wait for the kids. We talk some more about the weekend coming and Andy keeps insisting that I go away and enjoy myself.

"It will be fine. I promise. Nothing will happen, between Bradie, Mum and I we have it covered. You should go and have some fun with Alice."

"Are you absolutely sure it's okay?" I ask him.

"Definitely, trust me okay?" he says.

I smile and nod and decide that yes, I'll go. I pull my phone out as the bus pulls up and I open up a new text message.

_Okay, I'm coming with you on the weekend. Text me the details _

I put my phone back in my pocket and say hello to the twins before we walk home again.

We spend a quiet afternoon together, the four of us and even manage to have dinner together too. Andy offers to cook on the BBQ so we eat outside before heading in as it cools off.

Alice sends me a text telling me she'll pick me up at 5 am Saturday morning and that we'll be home late Sunday night. The more I think about it the more excited I am for a girl's weekend. I don't think I've ever had a whole weekend away with just the girls before.

Andy seems to be almost as excited as I am.

"So are you absolutely sure you'll be okay with the kids?"I ask him again after dinner, for what seems like the twentieth time today.

"Would you quit worrying about it? Trust me, okay. It will be fine."

"I can't help but worry though. They're my kids; it's my job to worry about them."

"I know gorgeous" he says as he puts an arm around my shoulder as we sit on the couch watching TV with the twins. "Nothing will happen to them. Please don't spend your weekend away stressing about them, everything will be okay. You'll see" he says before kissing my forehead.

I nestle back into his body and sigh in contentment. Its moments and days like these where everything feels right. Even his early revelation about wanting kids isn't worrying me as much as I thought it would. Maybe we should discuss the whole 'reproduction' issue, just not tonight. Everything seems right for a change.

When eight o'clock comes around I stand and walk the kids to their bedrooms, Andy says goodnight to them from the couch. When I come back I flop down next to him and snuggle back into his side.

I start thinking about the fact the Andy gave up his afternoon with Vicki to spend it with me. Perhaps I should extend the proverbial olive branch to her. After all, she is one of his best friends and it would be hard on him if we didn't get along.

"What do you think about inviting Vicki over for dinner tomorrow night?" I ask him.

He turns and looks at me with his eyebrows disappearing under his fringe. "You want Vic to come over? How come?" he says, obviously feeling the tension between her and me.

"Well, I hardly know her and I know you gave up your afternoon with her to spend it with me. So why not?"

"Seriously? Okay, I'll text her now and ask" he says, grabbing his phone off the coffee table.

He's fiddling with his phone for a little while before putting it on the arm of the couch and turning to face me. "So you have tomorrow off don't you?" he says.

"Yeah, I do. Why's that?" I reply.

"I was thinking we might go for a drive up the coast maybe, or even into Sydney if you wanted to. What do you think?"

"Yeah I guess. Did you want to take Vicki and Bradie with us as well or just the two of us?" I ask him, unsure of his intentions.

"Well we'll be seeing Vic tomorrow night probably, might as well ask Bradie for dinner too, so how about just the two of us for the day?" he says.

"Okay. Sounds good but promise me that Friday night is our night together. I'm going to miss you this weekend."

"Deal gorgeous, how about I take you and the kids out for dinner?" he says leaning over and kissing me on the lips quickly.

I return his kiss and nod. "Sounds great" I tell him.

We watch the end of Futurama and then put on the Goonies movie. I grab my phone and send a quick text to Bradie as Vicki sends an affirmation to Andy's phone.

_Having dinner here tomorrow night with Vicki. Want to come as well? Please?_

I put my phone on the couch next to me as I settle in and watch the opening scenes of the movie.

It buzzes a short while later and I pick it up and look at the screen.

_Wouldn't miss it for all the tea in china_

I smile and close the message. When I look up at the screen I notice Andy is staring at me. "What?" I say to him.

"Who was that making you smile?" he says.

"Oh, just Bradie, he says he's coming tomorrow night too."

"I swear he talks to you more than I do these days."

I look at his face and realise he's being serious. "Don't be jealous honey, it's just that you've been spending time with Vicki since she's been here and I guess Bradie is probably bored senseless. He'd have to be, wanting to spend time with me. It's not like I actually do anything exciting."

"I know. It's just a little frustrating at the moment. We moved in together but I think we actually see less of each other now" he says.

My heart drops a little before I ask "Don't you think this was a good idea? To live together?"

"Oh God, I didn't mean it like that" he says quickly. "It's just with everything going on at the moment it seems as though there's just no time for us, you know?"

"I know what you mean. But hey, we'll get tomorrow together. We'll go for a drive, have a great day out and just enjoy ourselves" I tell him.

"Yeah, we will" he says before pulling me closer. I cuddle up to him once again and watch the movie before drifting to sleep.

Andy wakes me from my slumber, the movie has finished and he walks me to the bedroom and climbs into bed, cuddling me from behind. I drift back to sleep almost immediately.

In the morning we both get up at seven and I rush out of bed and into the shower, leaving Andy by himself.

When I get out, he's still lying in bed but now he has the little TV going and is watching the news.

"I'm going to go and get the kids organised" I say to him.

"Alright, I'll get up in a minute" he replies before changing the channel again.

I leave him be and go out to find the kids already eating breakfast and watching Spongebob Squarepants.

"Morning guys" I say as I wander past them to put the kettle on.

I make a coffee and lean against the bench, trying to wake myself up.

After I drink half of my coffee I set about making lunches for the kids and getting bags packed.

"Can you both get dressed while I see I Andy is coming with us to the bus stop?" I ask them before going back to the bedroom to see what he's doing. When I open the door and check on him, he's fallen back asleep in bed. The TV is still going and I decide that it's not worth waking him until I get back.

I close the door again and tell the kids it's time to go. On the walk to the bus stop I let them know that I'm going away this weekend but Andy and Bradie were going to look after them.

Lilly's face instantly lights up but Max has a frown of concern that I notice immediately.

"What's wrong Max, you don't want me to go away?" I ask him.

"It's just that I was going to ask you if I can join the soccer team this weekend. Ryan and Eric are going to ask their mums too and I wanted to play with them."

"Oh, well, how about I talk to Andy about this? I'm sure he will take you if you ask him" I say.

"Do you really think so?" Max says as we stop and wait for the bus. He takes his bag off his back and digs around in it.

"Yeah, I'm sure he would. I'll ask him today for you" I tell him as he stands and thrusts a piece of paper in my hands. I have a quick glance at it and the title reads 'Soccer Sign-on'.

I fold it up and stuff it in my back pocket to look at later on.

As the bus pulls up I give them both a kiss on the head and wave goodbye before beginning my walk back home. I read through the pamphlet and see that the sign-on is on Saturday morning followed by a few friendly games and a sausage sizzle.

The house is quiet as I enter and I go straight to the bedroom and open the door to find Andy still asleep.

I go around to his side of the bed and gently brush the hair back from his face whilst saying his name quietly.

I get absolutely no response from him so I decide to give his shoulder a little shake but all he does is shrug it off and roll over.

Alright then, time to pull out the big guns. I climb on the bed, grab the covers and yank them back before jumping up and down yelling 'wake up' repeatedly.

The look of shock on his face is priceless. I swear his eyes nearly pop right out of his head before he sits up in search of the blankets. I take that moment to drop to my knees and wrestle him backwards pinning him on the bed before he manages to cover himself.

"It's too early" he says before trying to push me off him.

"Out of bed sleepy head, we have the whole day together remember?" I say to him.

"Can't we just stay in bed instead?" he groans.

"Nope" I say quickly before peppering his face with little kisses. I'm quite excited to just be spending the day with him and he's not going to ruin it for me with his laziness.

He seems to be enjoying the little kisses, I can feel him relaxing beneath me, and so I stop and sit up again.

"Hey, that was nice" he says opening his eyes and looking up at me.

"I'll give you some more later, if you get up" I say, using the new found information as leverage.

"You're blackmailing me now, is that it?" he says with a grin.

"Hey, anything it takes to get you out of bed so we can start our day together. No offence, I love you and all, but you are really frigging boring when you sleep."

He smiles and says "okay then, let me up please" as I roll off him and allow him to stand. He walks into the ensuite and starts the shower while I make the bed.

I'm back out in the kitchen making him a cup of coffee by the time he re-emerges. I hand him the mug as he walks up and slings an arm around my waist pulling me to him.

"Feel better now?" I ask him.

"Remarkably, thanks" he replies taking a sip of his coffee.

"So what are we doing today then?" I ask, my excitement matching the smile on my face.

"Well, I thought we could go and have a game of ten pin bowling or something like that, grab some fish and chips or something similar and have lunch in the park followed by a drive up to Swansea Heads for a look."

"That sounds perfect. I might just put a load of washing on then while you have breakfast and get organised" I tell him before giving him a kiss and heading for the laundry.

An hour or so later and we climb into the car and head for Bateau Bay where the nearest ten pin bowling alley is. It's just after ten thirty and when we arrive there is only one other couple already there.

Apparently the league bowling doesn't start until one in the afternoon so we are given the pick of the lanes and we find shoes to fit and the right size bowling balls.

Turns out that Andy really is quite competitive and he gets his nose out of joint a bit when I beat him in the first game. He insists that we have another game and claims he was only just warming up.

I laugh at him and agree anyway. Half way through and he realises that I'm just a little better at bowling than he is he decides to start cheating. He starts making lewd comments as I'm about to bowl, even grabbing my ass at one point and I nearly dropped the ball on his foot.

Eventually the game is over, I beat him by 27 and he finally admits defeat.

When hand our shoes back and pay for the extra game we bowled before leaving in search of some lunch. We find a take away store a bit closer to home and grab some fish and chips before driving back to the park.

Grabbing our lunch and the travel rug, we automatically head in the direction of our spot by the water's edge. When we get there Andy spreads the blanket out on the ground and we both sit down side by side.

I unwrap the paper and spread our lunch out in front of us. We eat slowly and relaxed, enjoying the quiet time. Being a Thursday, the park is practically empty. When we're done, Andy gets up and walks our rubbish to the nearby bin before returning to the rug with me.

We lay down, my head resting on Andy's stomach and watch the trees and clouds.

"Are you looking forward to this weekend?" Andy asks me.

"Yeah, definitely, I was trying to remember last night if I've ever actually had a weekend away, just with the girl before and I don't think I have."

"You'll have a brilliant time, I just know it."

"Oh, before I forget, I think Max wants you to take him to a soccer sign-on on Saturday morning. He was asking me about it this morning and I told him I'd ask you about it."

"Yeah, I can do that. I used to play soccer when I was a kid."

"Really, I thought you were always into music" I reply.

"Yeah, I was, but I did play sport too. Soccer was my favourite actually."

"I'm sure Max will love it if you teach him a few things" I say as I slip my hand into my back pocket and pull out the piece of paper he gave me this morning and hand it to Andy.

He reads through it before tucking it into his front pocket of his jeans.

We stay in the park for another twenty minutes or so before deciding to go for our drive up to Swansea Heads. The landscape and scenery is so beautiful and I really wish I had brought my camera with me to take some photos. I voice the idea to Andy and he promises to bring us back up here another day.

We park and go for a wander along the heads, enjoying the relaxed day that we've had so far. All too soon it's time to head to the supermarket to grab some things for tonight's dinner with Vicki and Bradie before picking up the kids.

We make our way back to Woolworths and Andy pushes the trolley while I wander around trying to decide what to make. After asking Andy's advice on what sort of things Vicki likes, I decide on doing a simple stir fry for dinner. When I have all the necessary ingredients, plus Andy's junk food and some more ice cream to replace the container we ate the other night we make our way to the registers.

I can see a few people look our way but no one approaches us. Maybe the locals are getting used to seeing me with him now.

When we get through the register and out to the car, we pack the groceries in before heading home to unload. It's after three already when we pull in to the driveway. Andy helps me carry the bags inside before leaving to get the kids whilst I unpack everything.

When they get home I have everything put away and have already laid out a drink and snack for all three of them on the kitchen table.

I notice the smile on Max's face and I figure that Andy has already told him about the soccer sign-on. I sit with them all at the table, listening to Andy and Max talking about grabbing a soccer ball from next door and practicing this afternoon. Lilly is even showing some interest in it all and Andy asks her if she wants to have a go at it as well. She nods shyly and Andy stands up.

"I'll duck next door and get the ball and see if Bradie wants to play too okay?" he says.

"Alright" I say as I stand as well and take the plates and cups back to the sink as he goes out the front door.

"How about you two get changed out of your uniform and into some old clothes okay" I tell both the twins and then shoot off to their rooms.

By the time Andy gets back with Bradie and a soccer ball in tow the kids are chomping at the bit to get in the back yard.

Bradie gives me a smile and says a quick hello before following the other three out the back.

I prepare all the vegetables for the stir-fry and have everything ready to go by five o'clock. I decide to go out back and see the others and maybe even kick back and have a beer whilst I wait for the dragon, I mean dinner guest to arrive.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter thirteen

I'm halfway through my second beer and laughing my head off at Bradie slipping over when I hear a knock on the front door. I glance at my watch and see it's a quarter to six already. I stand, taking my bottle with me and open the front door.

Vicki greets me with a smile and holds out a bottle of wine to me. "Hi Elle, hope I'm not late or anything" she says.

"No, not at all, come in" I tell her. "I was just out the back watching Andy and Bradie playing soccer with the kids."

She follows me in to the kitchen whilst I put the bottle of wine in the fridge. "Do you want a drink or anything?" I ask her.

"Yeah, I'll have a beer if you have any more" she tells me and I motion for her to follow me outside. So far so good. We are all cordial and nice with each other, no cat fights in sight. Well, not yet anyhow.

"Have a seat" I say to her as I open the beer fridge and grab a bottle for her. I pop the cap and hand it to Vicki before taking a seat on the other side of the table and continue watching the soccer match.

Andy looks over to us and waves, I smile before noticing Vicki giving him a little 'finger' wave.

"So Vicki, what have you been up to all day?" I ask her, deciding to be polite.

"Well, I went for a ride down the coast again and saw Sonny and Jimmy. Then I went and looked at a new bike before deciding against it. Since I'm going away again it would be pointless to buy a new one. I won't get to ride it for a while yet."

I nod and smile, feigning interest in what she's saying but secretly wishing she was leaving tomorrow instead of in two weeks time. I glance at my watch and call out to the kids. "I think it's time you two went and had a bath before dinner" I tell them.

There are the usual groans and complaints as the twins head inside. Bradie walks over to the table and sits to the right hand side of Vicki whilst Andy grabs a beer out of the fridge for himself.

"Does anyone else want a drink whilst I'm up?" he says, looking at us all.

"I'll have another one" says Vicki as Bradie shakes his head declining.

"Babe, do you want one?" Andy asks me.

"No thanks, I have to cook dinner yet, and if I have another one I really won't care much if I burn it or not" I tell him with a wink.

He nods his head with a knowing smirk and grabs another beer for Vicki before coming and sitting down beside me.

"Did you enjoy y our game?" I asked him.

"Yeah, that was great. I haven't played in years" he says.

"I remember when you were so obsessed with soccer" says Vicki. "You used to always have a soccer ball under your arm where ever you went. It wasn't until you met Shaun that you really started getting interested in the guitar."

"That's not true" says Bradie shaking his head. "Andy and I used to jam together all the time when we were younger."

"When? I never saw you guys play together once before Shaun came on the scene" says Vicki.

Well, if she wanted to eliminate me from the conversation she certainly achieved it. I can't help but think that this is a sign of things to come for the evening. I decide to start dinner anyhow and stand up, grabbing my beer as I do.

"I'm just going to go check on the kids and start on dinner" I say.

"Do you need a hand?" says Andy as I walk past him.

"No, its fine, you guys relax. I'll give you a yell when it's ready" I say as I open the back door and go inside. I put my beer on the kitchen bench as I go in search of the kids to make sure they're getting cleaned up and in their pyjamas.

When I'm satisfied that they are doing what they're supposed to be, I go back to the kitchen and heat the pan up, ready to cook the stir fry. I throw all the ingredients in and then set the table for us all.

The kids wander in when I'm dishing it up and I ask Lilly to tell the others that dinner is ready.

She comes back inside followed by everyone else and Bradie immediately walks to the kitchen bench and asks me whose plate is whose. I point them out and he starts to put them on the table whilst Andy grabs the water jug and some cups for everyone.

We all sit and start on our meals; Andy and I are sitting together with the kids opposite us and Bradie up one end of the table and Vicki at the other.

"This is really good Elle. It has a great flavour" Bradie says. I smile at him in thanks.

"It's nice Elle" says Vicki and I say a quiet thankyou to you her.

We all continue to eat and discuss mundane things like football and the weather.

When we have finished, Andy helps me clear the table whilst Bradie starts on the dishes. I grab a tea towel and start to wipe whilst Andy takes Vicki and the kids into the lounge room and puts the TV on.

"So dinner went well" Bradie says quietly to me.

"Yeah, so far so good. Although, I still don't know a lot about the girl" I tell him.

"She's pretty hard to get to know actually. She's more like one of the guys than one of the girls though."

"Yeah I've noticed."

We continue in silence and when Vicki enters the kitchen and gets the wine from the fridge I let her know where the glasses are so she can pour them.

"Do you guys want a glass?" she asks us both.

"I won't say know" I reply, thinking that at least I might be able to relax enough to enjoy the evening.

"No thanks Vicki" says Bradie.

She pours three glasses and returns the bottle to the fridge before leaving the kitchen and my glass behind.

I take a sip and nearly spit it out. After swallowing it I remark "Well, she's got taste in her ass, that's for sure" to which Bradie starts laughing.

I tip the rest down the sink and wash my glass up. When we're finished we both walk into the lounge room. I sit on the floor in front of Andy and Bradie takes a single chair. Andy absent-mindedly plays with my hair as I listen to what they're talking about whilst pretending to watch Futurama with the kids.

It seems that Vicki is determined to leave me out of the conversation tonight when I realise she is reminiscing with Andy again.

I cut a glance at Bradie and he's focused on the TV from the looks of it. I decide to do the same and watch the rest of the show before standing and announcing that it's bed time for the kids.

They stand and say goodnight to everyone and give both Andy and Bradie a hug.

When I come back from their rooms I sit on a chair next to Bradie and ask him what his weekend plans are.

"Well I thought Andy and I were taking care of the kids" he says.

"Oh so he has spoken to you about that? I wasn't sure if he'd had the chance yet."

"Yeah, we were talking about it this afternoon when we were playing soccer. I'm really looking forward to it actually" he tells me with a grin.

"I hope they're not too much trouble for you" I say to him.

"Nah, they'll be fine. You have great kids Elle. Are you looking forward to getting away?" he asks.

"Yeah I am actually. It will be fun to have a weekend away with Alice. She's such a great girl and I'm pretty sure we'll have a fair amount of fun."

"Just remember, nearly everyone's phones these days have at least a camera on it. Just don't go too overboard" Bradie says to me with a smile.

"I'll try to remember that" I say laughing at him.

I see Vicki stand from the corner of my eye and shift my attention to them. "Vicki's going to head home" Andy says.

"Oh okay, well thanks for coming" I say to her as I stand.

"I might as well head off too" says Bradie. "Let you get some sleep before work tomorrow."

"Well thank you both for coming over" I say to them as Andy grabs my hand and we following them both out the front door.

"Thanks for dinner Elle, it was great" Vicki says turning and smiling at me. I don't know why but I get chills when she smiles like that.

"You're welcome" I reply to her.

"As always Elle, dinner was wonderful" Bradie says before leaning in and kissing my cheek before walking home.

"Good night" I say to them both as Andy closes the door behind them.

"I hate it when Bradie kisses you" he says.

I laugh and say "What? He was just saying thankyou and goodnight."

"Can't he say it with words?" he says.

I hug him tight and look up at him, resting my chin on his chest. "I think it's funny how you get jealous of your brother. You do realise I think of him as my brother too" I tell him.

"Yeah, I know. It's just hard seeing anyone else get close to you."

I stand on my tip toes and kiss him on the lips. "I feel the same way, but it's just one of those things we have to deal with. Do you know how many photos I've seen of girls with their lips pressed against your cheek plastered all over the internet?"

"I know. I'm sorry, I'm being an idiot."

"Come on, lets go to bed and you can tell me all about how you're going to make it up to me" I say with a grin, turning off the kitchen light followed by the TV and dragging him to the bedroom with me.

Friday morning I get up when the alarm goes off, leaving Andy asleep in bed and get ready for work. It's becoming quite a habit these days and I go through the motions of getting the kids organised and ready for school.

When I get back from the bus stop, I wake Andy with a kiss to the forehead before ripping the covers off him and taking them into the ensuite with me. I laugh at the groans and protests I hear whilst I finish doing my make up.

When I come back out, he's crawled under the bottom sheet and is wrapped up like a cocoon. I go and dump the covers back on top of him before whispering goodbye in his ear.

I leave him there and grab my bag and things and head for work.

Sandra is extra chirpy today and when she asks me what my plans are for the weekend she launches into a story about how she commandeered a shopping trolley one night with her friends and they proceeded to tour the town in it. Drunk of course.

When it came time for a morning coffee I welcomed the excuse to get out of the office for a while and headed over the road to see Alice.

When she had finished serving I gave her my order and we chatted about the up coming weekend. We decided that we were leaving at six am and I made a mental note to warn Andy that he will have to get up early in the morning.

It was going to be about a four hour drive to Nowra and there was shopping to be done apparently when we got there.

"We are going to buy whole new outfits and then go out on the town and party all night" she tells me.

"Okay, we'll see how we go shall we. So do you know people from there?" I ask her.

"Yeah, my best friend from school, Scott, moved there a couple of years ago and I visit him occasionally. He lives with his boyfriend Mike and that's where we're going to be staying" she tells me.

"Sounds good, they don't mind do they?" I ask her.

"No, not at all. They are both great guys, we'll have a blast" she tells me before noticing a new customer come into the store. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Okay, six am sharp" I reply as I grab the coffees and Danish off the counter and head back to work.

I had the paper bag to Sandra as I walk past the counter I swear her eyes glaze over. I sip my coffee as I work and by the time lunch rolls around I'm halfway through the tax receipts.

I grab my bag and phone and tell Sandra I'm off to get some lunch. Deciding against the deli today I wander down the main street to a Subway store and go and place my order.

With my sub in hand I find a table outside in the warm sunlight and unwrap my lunch. I check my phone after I take a bite and see that I have two new messages.

The first one is from Andy and reads: _just got up and wondered how the hell I got stuff under the sheet like pita bread. Call me when you can. Love you._

I quietly laugh to myself as I open the next. It's from my Mum and is a reminder that I have to ring Jim and Carole.

Damn it, I had forgotten all about that. I open my contacts list and search for their number before pressing the send button. It rings and rings but goes to message bank in the end.

I leave a short message letting them know I had tried calling and I'll be away for the weekend but will try them again early next week.

I then press the speed dial of Andy's mobile and he answers on the second ring.

"_Hey there gorgeous, how are you?"_

"_I'm good, did you only just get up you lazy git?" I ask him._

"_Nah, about an hour ago I guess. Hey did you want me to hang the washing out?" he asks me._

_I giggle at the thought of Andy being domesticated and he immediately says "What's so funny?"_

"_Nothing at all, sorry, umm just throw it in the dryer for now okay. It probably won't dry in time if you hang it out now."_

"_Alright then. We're going out for dinner too, just thought I'd remind you" he tells me._

"_I know, I'm looking forward to it" I tell him._

"_I'll let you get back to work and I'll see you when you get home okay."_

"_Alright sweetie, see you later on" I say as I end the call._

I finish my sandwich off before heading back to work. The afternoon goes ever so slow and I'm surprised when Sandra calls me out the front. I put my pen down and take off my glasses before wandering out to see what she's wanting.

"Hey Elle" I hear a voice say and I turn and see Shaun.

"Oh hey, Shaun, how are you?"

"I'm good thanks. Brooke told me you work here on Fridays, I hope you don't mind me calling in" he says.

I throw a glance at Sandra who raises her eyebrows before saying "I'll be out the back if you need me."

I nod and walk over to where Shaun is standing.

"It's fine, what can I do for you?" I ask him.

"Well, it's Brooke's birthday in a couple of weeks time and I wanted to get her something cute. She's into fairy's and elves and things like that and I guess I'm wondering if she's ever expressed interest in anything in here before?" he asks me.

"You know, I don't think she has actually" I tell him as I glance around. "But I'm sure you could find something she'd love."

"Oh and before I forget" he says and hands me an envelope. I take it from him and look questionably at him. "We're having a surprise fancy dress party for her too. It's at my parent's house in their pool room out back" he tells me.

"Oh great. I have no doubt that Andy and I will definitely be there" I tell him. "But how come you didn't just give the invite to Andy?"

"He always loses stuff like that and I wanted to be sure you got it" Shaun tells me.

"Well, thanks for thinking of us" I say as we start to walk around the store looking at the assorted items.

His eyes land on a clock in the shape of a toadstool but decorated with hundreds of little gothic looking fairies and elves.

"This looks amazing" he says as he reaches up and takes it off the shelf for a closer look.

"I can give you a 15% discount too" I tell him as he reads the price tag.

"Sold" he says enthusiastically as we make our way back to the counter so I can box it up and wrap it for him.

When I'm done he thanks me again and kisses my cheek goodbye.

"It was great seeing you again Elle, don't be such a stranger okay?" he says.

"I won't. I'll see you guys soon" I say as he leaves the store, his purchase in hand.

I call out to Sandra and she comes back out and thanks me for the sale. I shake my head at her and make my way out the back to finish work.

At three o'clock I'm climbing in my car and heading home, looking forward to the evening planned and when I pull into the driveway, Andy is on the front step waiting for me. His smile is beautiful as he stands and greets me at my car door.

I climb out and give him a solid kiss before following him into the house to put my bag inside. I tell him about the party invitation and seeing Shaun at the shop before we walk to the bus stop to get the kids.

When I tell them that we're going out for dinner they get real excited until Andy mentions it's not Hungry Jacks or McDonalds. I laugh at their faces.

When I tell them it means they can get dressed up they start smiling again and planning their outfits.

By the time we're home again they are very keen to get dressed and ready.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter fourteen

After I get the kids dressed in their nicest clothes I leave them on the couch and hit the shower to get ready myself. Andy is next door at his parent's house saying hi to them all and catching up with his sister Nicole who has popped around for a visit.

After I have scrubbed myself with body wash and I am practically hairless I climb out and cover my body with moisturising lotion. I grab a set of matching red underwear, pull on some stay-up stockings and then put my basic black dress on over the top. I decide on my silver and black evening jacket but will put it on later.

I brush out my hair and tie it back whilst I put some light make up on. When I am done I decide to leave my hair down for a change and brush it before running over it with the hair straightener. Satisfied with how I look I clean up my mess and go in search of my jacket before turning off the lights and heading back out to the kitchen.

It's just before six and Andy should be back any minute to get ready. I pull a glass out of the freezer and pour myself a drink whilst I wait.

Ten minutes later and Andy comes barrelling through the front door and runs straight to the bedroom calling out 'sorry' as he goes.

I giggle and shake my head at him as I finish my drink and wash up my glass.

When he emerges fifteen minutes later he's dressed in black dress pants and a white shirt with a black and red tie. His hair is neatly combed and he smells divine. I think I'm going to turn into a puddle of goo. I'm sitting on the couch staring at him and I think I may have even drooled a bit.

That pants-dropping grin appears on his face as he says "Hey gorgeous, you look, well, gorgeous."

"You're not too shabby yourself" I reply as I stand and kiss him gently.

"Ready to go kids?" he says as Max turns the TV off and we all make our way to the front door. Andy has already said he's driving so we make our way to his car and climb in.

He tells us on the way to the restaurant about his sister and how she's going to come over and visit tomorrow. The kids really hit it off with Nicole at Andy's birthday party and they are looking forward to seeing her again.

"Oh, that reminds me. Alice is picking me up at six in the morning too" I tell him.

"Why so early?" Andy asks.

"Apparently we have to go shopping as soon as we get there for new outfits to wear out tomorrow night" I tell him, laughing as I do at the look of horror on his face.

"But six, in the morning, are you kidding me?"

"You'll be fine, it just means we won't have a late night tonight, that's all" I tell him.

"That's not fair! I had so many things planned" he says.

"Are you going to stamp your feet next?" I say as he frowns again.

The kids are both laughing at him as he fakes a little tantrum. By the time we get to the restaurant I have to re-check my makeup to make sure I didn't leave tear marks under my eyes from laughing so hard.

We all walk in together and are seated immediately. The view is stunning and the service is prompt.

The kids both order lasagnes, Andy orders a steak with a seafood topping and I decide on the spinach and ricotta ravioli. Somehow I don't think Andy is into Italian food as much as we are.

We talk about the weekend whilst we wait and Andy tells the twins that Nicole wants to come to Soccer as well. They talk about dinner options and other things they want to do and when dinner arrives, Andy has Lilly convinced that she should be playing soccer with Max as well.

Our meals are delicious and even the kids are impressed with theirs. Although they both swear black and blue that it isn't as good as mine. Andy has a taste and agrees with them, making me smile at his over-acting.

A lady appears shortly after our empty plates are taken away and asks if we mind if she takes our photo for the 'dining-out' section of the local newspaper. I look to Andy and he shrugs and says he doesn't mind. The kids are excited; they've never been in the newspaper before, so I agree too.

We all lean in closer to each other with Andy and I in the centre, his arm around my shoulders and the kids either side of us. The lady takes the photo and then asks for our names and details.

The photo will appear in Saturday's Express Advocate and we can buy a copy of the photo from the newspaper after Monday. She shows us the photo with her camera and gives us her card before leaving.

We decide against dessert and the kids complain until we agree to get an ice cream from Hungry Jacks on the way home instead.

Andy settles the bill and we leave at just after eight-thirty. The kids are looking tired but still eager for their soft-serve cones. Andy holds my hand the whole drive home and when we do eventually pull into the driveway, both of the kids are asleep, Max still has a bit of ice-cream on his chin.

We carry them both inside and put them to bed. Andy leaves me while I strip them both down to their underwear so they are comfortable. When I'm satisfied that they are both asleep I go and grab a drink of water before going to the bedroom to find Andy.

When I open the door I see he's sitting on the bed, his trademark grin in place. In one hand he has a bottle of champagne and in the other he has two glasses. His tie is undone and hanging haphazardly around his neck. I have no idea where the bottle came from but I really like his way of thinking.

I close the door and lean against it, drinking in the sight of him before moving towards the bed.

"Drink?" he says, handing me the glasses.

I take them from his hands and ask "What are we celebrating?"

"Us" he says with a smile as he pops the cork on the bottle. I smile at him as he pours the champagne with a steady hand before putting the bottle on the bedside table and taking one of the glasses from me.

"A toast, to us and our beautiful future together" he says as he raises his glass. I clink mine to his and smile before raising it to my lips and taking a sip.

I watch as Andy drains his glass in one gulp and then tosses it on the bed behind him. "Now, come here woman" he says as his arms go around my waist and he pulls me to him.

I giggle a bit and finish the rest of my glass before leaning over and putting it next to the bottle. I grab the ends of his tie and pull his face to mine as I lean over to kiss him. It escalates quickly and I find my hands unconsciously undoing the buttons on his shirt while his hands find the zipper up the back of my dress.

He slowly unzips it and I let my arms hang so that my dress will slip off me. I kick it away with my feet and return to undoing his buttons. When I'm done I push his shirt from his shoulders and he pulls his arms from the sleeves before dumping it on the floor with my dress.

"Holy shit" he says as he leans back and looks at what I'm wearing. I guess he likes the red as his hands are suddenly everywhere at once.

I drag him to his feet and unbutton his pants and sliding them over his hips until they hit the floor as well. He kicks off his shoes and socks and they land next to the pile of clothes. I'm still in my stockings and heels and he falls to his knees, removes my heels then runs his hands up my legs before rolling down my stockings.

As he stands he runs his tongue up the length of my body, along my collarbone and up my neck before finding my mouth. The kiss is long and full of passion and ecstasy. His hands go to my ass and as he lifts me I wrap my legs around his waist. He turns us so that my back is to the bed and he gently lays me down on top of the covers.

We continue to kiss as his hands run the length of my body before travelling under my back in search of the clasp of my bra. He undoes it with one hand and slips the straps from my shoulders before flinging it over his back and onto the floor. His fingers caress my breast and when he pinches my nipple I arch my back from the bed involuntarily. His head moves to my chest and his tongue replaces his fingers. I can't help the low moan that escapes from my lips as I tilt my head back, lost in the ecstasy.

I'm so aroused and worked up that my hands find his head and I pull his face back to mine. I hook a toe into his boxers and start to drag them down his legs. He sits up and takes them off the rest of the way before he removes my pants as well.

Grabbing my hips he drags my body to him as he sits on his haunches and runs his fingers over my skin every so softly. I'm lost in the look of bliss on his face and can't think of anything other than this beautiful man before me.

He leans back down and our kisses have turned more passionate and loving. He flattens his body against mine as I feel him reach to the bedside table for a condom. I push him off me onto his back as I take it from his hand and roll it on before straddling his hips.

Leaning forward I take his bottom lip in between mine before kissing him deeply again. I lean my body back and feel him enter me. His hands go to my hips and I start to move with him, sitting back to watch his face as I do. As our pace begins to build he flips me to my back and pulls me to the side of the bed, standing as he thrust into me. I feel my orgasm building and I crave his closeness so I grab his arms and pull him down on top of me, loving the intimacy of his body on mine.

He presses his forehead to mine and as I feel my climax building I wrap my legs tight around him. I can tell from his erratic pace that he is close to coming with me. I dig my fingertips into his ass before running my nails up his back. That seems to have worked because as I feel my body clench around his, he flings his head back and let's out a sound that is almost classed as a grunt.

As we come down from our high Andy lets his weight rest on top of me and I feel so content in this post –coital glow. He kisses me gently, whispers his love before standing and going to the ensuite, I join him moments later and take a quick shower.

When I hop out I grab a robe and fling it around myself before realising that I haven't even packed yet. It's only just after eleven so I have plenty of time to do it now before getting a few hours sleep. I grab a bag from the top shelf and take it out and put it on the bed.

Andy gives me a funny look before saying "Was it that bad that you're leaving me?" before grinning like mad.

"No, silly, I just realised that I haven't packed for the weekend yet" I tell him.

I walk back into the robe and start gathering clothes before dumping them on the bed and folding them. I pack them into the bag and then gather my toiletries together while Andy turns the TV on and finds a channel he's satisfied with.

By the time I'm finished and have my clothes out for the morning it's almost midnight and Andy is snoring quietly.

I turn off the lights, grab the TV remote and climb into bed before setting the alarm for five. I figure it's going to take me about half an hour just to wake Andy up. I change channels and settle on some documentary about penguins before I set the sleep timer and snuggle into Andy's side.

His arm goes automatically to my ass as he pulls be closer and starts snoring again. I close my eyes and drift to sleep.

The alarm wakes me and I quickly turn it off before jumping out of bed and getting dressed. I'm more excited for this trip than I thought and I quickly go and do my hair and brush my teeth before packing everything into my overnight bag.

I then set about the task of waking Andy. I start with some quiet talking but seeing that I'm getting no response I decide to just set the alarm again and put it next to his head.

It works and his arms flail everywhere as he sits up in a panic. I grab the alarm clock before he has a chance to fling it at me and I say "Good morning sunshine, rise and shine."

He groans and lays back down, pulling a pillow over his head. I quickly rip it off him, along with the covers and he complains bitterly that he's cold.

"Well, you'd better hop up and get dressed then hadn't you?" I say with a smile.

He looks me dead in the eye and says "you are evil in the mornings Elle."

He looks so serious that I can't help but laugh at him. I even do my 'wicked witch of the west' impersonation for him and he just shakes his head before climbing out of bed and into the ensuite.

When I'm satisfied that he's not going to sneak back to bed I head to the kitchen and boil the kettle.

Andy emerges ten minutes later and when I look at the clock I see I've only got about fifteen minutes before Alice will be here. I put some bread in the toaster and pour our coffees.

"Do you want something to eat yet?" I ask him but he shakes his head.

"I'm going to go see if the kids are awake yet. If my toast pops can you butter it for me please?" I ask him.

"Yeah, sure" he says as he takes a mouthful of coffee.

I go into Lilly's room first and see that she's stirring. I push the hair back off her face and kiss her forehead before quietly saying good morning to her. Her eyes flick open and she stretches and yawns.

"I'm going soon, are you going to hop up or are you staying in bed?" I ask her.

"I'm getting up" she says as she throws back her covers.

"Andy's in the kitchen" I tell her as I stand and head to Max's room. He must have heard us because when I enter he's standing there tying up his dressing gown.

"Morning mum" he says to me.

"Hey little man, you excited about soccer today?" I ask him and he nods enthusiastically.

We walk out to the kitchen and see Lilly has wrapped herself around Andy's legs. She's still half asleep and is cuddling into him.

Andy hands me a plate with my toast on it and I smile and thank him.

I pour some juice for the kids and as I'm rinsing my plate and cup we hear Alice's car pull into the driveway.

Max goes to the front door and opens it for Alice as she enters the house, all smiles.

"Good morning everyone" she says. I can't help but smile at her eagerness and return her greeting.

Andy lets out a grunt of sorts and that makes Alice smile even more.

"Too early for you Andy?" she says with a grin.

"Just a little bit, another hour would have been nice" he says.

"Sorry, but we have a four hour drive and then lots of shopping to do. No time for sleep-ins today. Are you ready Elle?" she says.

"Sure am, do you want to take my bag out and I'll be with you in a minute" I say to her.

"Okay, see you outside" she says.

I bend down and hug Max to me. "You behave yourself this weekend and help out when you can okay?" I say to him.

"I will" he says.

"Have fun at soccer and I'll give you guys a call this afternoon okay?"

"Okay Mum, we'll be fine."

I hug Lilly next and tell her much the same thing before turning my attention to Andy.

I kiss him softly and then hug him tightly.

"Call me if you need me okay? I'll have my phone on me at all times" I tell him.

"We'll be fine. Have some fun alright?" he says before kissing me again.

"Alright" I say to him before turning to the kids and telling them "don't let him go back to sleep okay?"

I release my hold on him and grab my handbag and phone from the bench before walking out to Alice's car.

Andy and the kids stand in the doorway and wave goodbye to us. I blow them all kisses as we drive away and begin our weekend away at Nowra.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter fifteen

As we make our way down the coast to Nowra Alice and I catch up with each other and what's been happening in our lives.

She tells me she's not seeing anyone at the moment and is happy with it being that way. Apparently, her and Bradie text each other all the time and are she tells me it feels like he's her best friend sometimes.

I smile at the thought of Bradie being the constant big-brother figure in everyone's lives. I hope one day he finds his true love. If anyone is deserving of being happy, it's Bradie.

"So where in Nowra are we going shopping? Isn't it like a smaller type of place?" I ask her.

"Not Nowra silly, we're going to go up to Wollongong to shop. I somehow don't think K-Mart is going to have anything super sexy for us to wear tonight" she tells me with a grin.

"What is the plan for tonight?"

"Well, again, there's nothing in Nowra, we're just staying there because that's where Scott and Mike live. There's this club in Wollongong called Hostage-X, that's where we're going. It's pretty popular and the music is always really great. They get lots of different DJ's in all the time so it's always changing."

"Oh okay, but hang on, if we're staying in Nowra, how are we getting to the club?" I ask her.

"Scott doesn't drink. He always drives us everywhere and Mike is like an eternal party animal so he's used to being the chauffeur."

"Have they been together long?"

"About three years or so I guess. They're more your age" she says with a cheeky smile.

"How does the whole 'gay-couple' thing go over in Nowra?"

"Well they don't flaunt it in public or anything, but they don't pretend that they're not together either. As far as I know, everyone is just fine with it. There's an old lady who lives next door and she's always inviting them over for dinner or afternoon tea. She thinks its great having two men as neighbours, perhaps it makes her feel more secure or something."

"But does she realise that they're a couple?" I ask.

"Yeah, I'm sure she does."

We pull into a McDonalds about half an hour later and grab some coffee and breakfast. I send a quick text to Andy while we sit and eat our McMuffins and hash browns.

_Just pulled in for some Maccas breakfast, hope you're still awake! Tell the kids I said Hi. Have fun at soccer, talk to you later on x_

When we finish stuffing our faces we walk back to the car and climb in before taking off again. My phone buzzes and I check the text.

_Of course I'm awake, what sort of substitute parent do you think I am? Drive safe, love you, call you later x_

I laugh and tell Alice what he said.

"So what about you two, what's happening in your futures?" she asks me.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, is there any marriage plans or the pitter-patter of tiny feet on the horizon?"

"Ah, well we haven't really talked about that yet. I think Andy wants kids of his own but probably not any time soon I would imagine. And as for getting married, it hasn't even crossed my mind. After the last time, I don't even know if I would want to take the vows again. You know, once bitten, twice shy and all that."

"Okay, well what if Andy asked you to marry him? What would you say?" she says.

I frown to myself as I try to imagine Andy proposing. I'm having a hard time trying to imagine it, let alone what I would say in the situation. Alice looks over to me and says "Is that really that hard a question to answer?"

"I honestly don't see him wanting to get married, so yeah, it is hard. He's never mentioned it to me, not even jokingly, and his parents are divorced, both remarried again. I'm under the impression that marriage isn't a big deal to him, you know?"

"Yeah, you're probably right. Okay, well what if he asked you to have a child with him? Would you?"

This question had been sitting in the back of my head ever since that trip to the doctors. "Admittedly I have thought about this one. I'm still young enough to have more children, and I don't think Max and Lilly would object to having another brother or sister, so I would probably be open to the idea of it. I mean, look at his mum? She was in her late thirties when she had Chris and I'm pretty sure that that they're trying for another one again."

"So is that a yes?" she asks me.

I think about it and say "yeah, that's a yes. I can see myself having maybe one or two more children, but definitely no more than that!"

Alice laughs and says "let's hope Andy doesn't want a large family then."

The trip to Nowra is filled with laughs and music and by the time we arrive I'm actually excited to go shopping and hang out with Alice and her friends.

Mike and Scott greet us when we arrive and they both hug me tightly. They lead us both into their home and when they have shown us which room we are sharing, Alice and I go back out and grab out bags.

Mike is tall, really tall, probably close to six foot five if I had to guess. Scott on the other hand is only about five foot ten on a good day. They are both blonde and gorgeous. We all sit at the little kitchen table and Scott offers us a drink.

We each have a beer and discuss the shopping that is still to be done as well as plans for tonight.

"You look so familiar" Mike says to me. "Are you sure we haven't met before?"

"I'm positive I would remember you Mike" I tell him with a smile.

"I just can't stop thinking I've seen your face before" he says, pondering the connection.

Alice starts giggling before saying "She's dating Andy Clemmensen you moron."

Mike's eyes pop open right before his mouth. "That's how I know your face! I've seen pictures of you with him" he says.

"You're a fan of Short Stack?" I ask him.

"Oh God yes, that Shaun has got just the most gorgeous ass and his cheekbones are to die for" he tells me.

I shake my head and laugh at what he's saying. "If you are ever up near home, give me a call and I'll introduce him to you."

"Really? OH MY GOD!" he says.

Alice is giggling and Scott is shaking his head. I wait for Mike to calm down before saying "of course I'll introduce you to Shaun, and Bradie and Andy too of course."

"So tell me, what's Andy like in bed?" Mike asks me, with a serious look on his face.

"Alright, that's enough" says Scott, wrapping a hand over Mike's mouth. "Some things are best not knowing about."

I wink at Mike and say "I'll never tell."

He laughs at me and we all stand to get organised to go shopping. Somehow I think the afternoon expedition to Wollongong will be interesting.

Four hours later and we are in the car heading home with a boot full of shopping bags. These guys knew how to shop, where to find the bargains and how to give brilliant dressing advice. I'm really pleased with the red dress I bought and the necklace and earrings to match it. I get dressed and when I view myself in the mirror I'm happy with the result. I actually look elegant.

When Alice emerges from the bathroom I almost gasp at her appearance. She looks simply beautiful and reminds me a lot of that character in True Blood called Jessica. Her skin is practically glowing and she's wearing a beautiful sequined black dress that you would expect to find on a movie star.

"You look absolutely gorgeous" I tell her.

"Have you looked in a mirror Elle? You look amazing!" she tells me.

Whilst we are smiling like a couple of idiots at each other, Mike and Scott emerge from their room, both dressed in tailored pants and dress shirts looking like models.

"I can see we're going to have our work cut out for us tonight" Mike pipes up.

"You two are looking fine" Scott says as they walk over to where we are leaning against the kitchen bench.

"Let's just say you two are lucky you're gay" says Alice with a wink at me.

"Well I wouldn't kick you out of bed if I was available" I tell them.

"Well aren't we going to look might fine tonight with these gorgeous ladies on our arms" Mike says.

"Let's get going then" Scott says as he grabs his keys from the bench.

We all grab our things and head out to the car for the drive to Wollongong. Scott plugs his Ipod in and puts it on shuffle. He has a very eclectic taste in music and the music is as varied as you can imagine. We sing along to Hanson, Short Stack, AC/DC, even a bit of Wham.

When we arrive in Wollongong, Scott parks the car in a parking garage nearby and we walk past the club to get to the entrance of the restaurant. We are seated almost immediately as the boys had phoned earlier and made a booking.

We place our order and I excuse myself to go outside and call Andy and the kids. I find a quiet spot and dial Andy's number. He answers on the second ring.

"_Hey gorgeous, how's the wonderful town of Nowra?" he says._

"_It's great but a little too small. We're actually in Wollongong at the moment at a restaurant for dinner before Scott and Mike take us to some club."_

"_Who are Scott and Mike?" he asks me._

"_This couple that Alice knows. They are so funny, and believe it or not but Mike is actually a fan of you guys. I guess they're about my age and they are so cute together."_

"_Oh, so they're an actual couple."_

"_Yeah they are. Anyhow, they took us shopping today and I found some really great bargains. I send you a photo later on of us all. How are the kids?" I ask him._

"_Yeah they're great."_

"_How did soccer training go?" I ask him._

"_Brilliant, Max impressed the coach and even Lilly decided to join up so I guess we have two little Socceroos on our hands now" he tells me, the pride coming out in his voice._

"_That's great, are they around at all? Can I have a quick word to them?" _

"_Yeah sure, hang on" he says and I hear the phone being passed._

"_Hey Mum" says Max._

_He tells me all about Soccer and what they had for lunch, how they spent the afternoon with Bradie and Nicole as well as Andy playing in the park. He puts Lilly on the phone next and she tells me how Nicole took her to the shops and bought her a stuffed giraffe and Max a soccer ball of his own._

_When Andy takes the phone again I hear him say to Bradie to look after the kids for a minute._

"_Where are you guys anyhow?" I ask him._

"_Oh we are playing mini-golf with mum and dad." He takes a deep breath before saying "I miss you."_

"_I miss you too, but I'll be home tomorrow before you know it. Are you having fun with the kids or are they too much?"_

"_No they're great. We took them to the park after soccer today and played for ages, and then we went shopping and took Nicole with us. There were a couple of girls who recognised us but Nicole took the kids while we signed a couple of autographs so that was okay."_

"_Sounds like fun. What have you got planned tomorrow?" I ask him._

"_Well Bradie is sleeping on the lounge tonight so he can get up with them in the morning. I think we were going to just hang around the house tomorrow at this stage. We'll see what happens though. Do you have any idea when you'll be home?" _

"_Not at this stage but I'll text you when we're leaving so you have an idea."_

"_Alright then, listen I have to go, it's my turn apparently. Everyone is giving me dirty looks."_

"_Okay, well I love you, have a great time and I'll text you when I leave okay?" I tell him._

"_I love you too. Have a great time tonight."_

"_Okay, bye honey."_

"_Good night gorgeous."_

I press the end button and then walk back into the restaurant, sitting at our table and smiling like an idiot.

"So how's lover-boy?" Alice asks me. "Coping with the kids?"

"Yeah, he's fine. Bradie is staying tonight to give him a hand. They're out playing mini-golf with his parents at the moment."

"Oh how sweet" Mike says from across the table.

Our meals arrive shortly after and we all tuck it, enjoying the food immensely. The guys are great companions and we are laughing and giggling our heads off throughout the meal.

After dinner we move to the bar and have a few drinks, with Scott drinking mock-tails. The boys share stories of how they met and fell in love and Alice explains how we are friends and the connection between us.

I ask Scott to take a photo of Alice and I with my phone, which he does immediately before handing it to the bar tender and asking him to take one of all four of us.

When I get my phone back I have a look at the pictures and send the one of Alice and me to Andy. After swapping numbers with both Scott and Mike I send them the pictures as well as Alice.

My phone buzzes with a text from Andy.

_You look fucking gorgeous! Wish I was there with you!_

I smile at that, which makes Mike realise that Andy had sent me reply.

"What'd he say?" he says.

I show him my screen and he smiles and says "awww".

"Come on you guys, lets get this show on the road" says Scott as he drinks the rest of his mock-tail.

We all scull our drinks, stand and leave the restaurant, walking the short distance to the nightclub. After paying our entry fee we wander in and find a space near the bar to stand. The place is packed and the music is really loud and pumping. Scott nods towards the bar and we all nod our heads to him.

He disappears through the crowd whilst we continue to look around. I see a few guys eyeing off Alice and it makes me smile to myself.

She of course notices and asks me what I'm grinning about. I subtly point out which guys were checking her out and she raises her eyebrows in surprise.

"I think you'll find they're looking at you" she says.

I laugh out loud at her and she just shakes her head at me. Scott makes his way back through the crowd to us and hands us all our drinks. I take a sip of my Scotch and Cola and look around the room. Nearly everyone is Alice's age and I suddenly start feeling rather foolish for coming out to a club.

As if sensing my hesitation at being here, Alice grabs my hand and drags me towards the dance floor. We find a spot and start to dance, mindful of our drinks as we are engulfed in the crowd.

The song changes and I look around to see that Scott and Mike have joined us, along with two other guys who I have no clue who they are.

We all dance together, and I'm beginning to see that the two new guys aren't a couple like I had originally assumed. One of them has his hand on Alice's waist and is getting quite close to her. The other one seems to be moving in on me and when his hand lands on my hip I begin to think maybe I should go and find somewhere to sit this out.

His other hand goes to my shoulder and he pulls me closer to him before bending down and yelling in my ear above the noise that his name is Jace. I yell back my name at him and he smiles.

When the song finishes he motions with his head to follow him to the bar but as I look at Mike and Scott before shaking my head 'no'.

Jace looks confused at first before Scott steps over to me and throws an arm around my shoulders. I'm so out of practice with all this 'ritualistic courting' that I have no idea how to say "Sorry, I'm actually taken and don't want to get to know you any better."

"She's actually taken mate" Scott yells and Jace must have heard what he said because he smiles at me then holds his hand out for me to take.

"It was great meeting you just the same. Thanks for the dance" he yells as he takes my hand in his and gives it a gentle squeeze.

"I think you'd best be sticking by my side tonight" Scott yells in my ear and I nod vigorously towards him.

We dance and drink until about three am before Scott declares it time to go home. We all agree since he has to drive us, and we don't want him to be too tired.

We walk out of the club and down the road to the car with Alice telling us all about the guy she was dancing with.

"He gave me his number and said to call him next time I'm in town" she slurs at me.

We've all had a fair amount to drink and I'm pretty sure the ride back to Nowra is going to be punctuated with snores the whole way.

We climb in the car and Alice and I curl up on the back seat and instantly fall asleep.

When I'm woken we are already at the house and Mike is trying to convince me to get out of the car. I look around and see that Scott has Alice over his shoulder and is carrying her like a sack of potatoes to the front door.

I sober up a little before grabbing my bag and standing up. Mike holds onto my arm as we make our way up the path and inside. He walks me to my room and when I switch on the light I see that Scott has already dumped Alice on her bed and she's snoring softly.

"Good night Mike, thanks for a brilliant night" I say, slurring the word brilliant in the process.

He grins at me and kisses me on the cheek before going back down the hallway.

I strip out of my dress and jewellery, flick the light off and climb into bed in my underwear. Maybe twenty seconds pass before I'm sleeping like a baby too.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

I'm woken by the sound of my phone ringing next to my head. I fumble and try to locate it before pushing that little green button and saying "Hello."

"_Good morning mum" I hear Max say._

"_Oh hey little man, how are you?"_

"_I'm good Mum. When are you coming home?" he asks me._

_I sit up and look around the room. I notice Alice isn't in her bed and I glance to my watch and see it's after ten already. Holy crap I slept in._

"_Ah, we'll probably be leaving soon I think mate. I'll have to check with Alice first though. Why is that?"_

"_We wanted to go to the beach today for lunch but we weren't going to go if you were coming home soon."_

"_We'll be awhile yet" I tell him before pulling my phone away from my ear to look at what number he's calling me from. It's Bradie's phone._

"_Is Bradie there mate?" I say to Max._

"_Yes he is, I'll put him on."_

_I hear the phone change hands and then Bradie comes on the line._

"_Morning Elle, how are you?" he says._

"_I'm hung over and tired and you just woke me up with your phone call" I tell him._

"_Oh, sorry about that, I just assumed you'd be awake by now."_

"_Is Andy up?" I ask him._

"_No, not yet. He was up late last night with Vicki I think."_

"_Vicki was over?" I ask him, suddenly more alert._

"_No, he went over home for a bit. I heard him come in around three this morning I think."_

"_oh okay, well, I haven't seen Alice yet so I don't know what the plan is but I'm sure we're not going to be home before three at least."_

"_Alright, well, I'm going to take the kids to the shops and then to the beach for lunch, if that's okay with you."_

"_Yeah, of course it is. Are you going to wake Andy?" I ask._

"_I was thinking of sending Max in there and getting him up."_

"_Yeah, do that. I'll talk to you later on and just tell Andy I'll text him when we're leaving okay."_

"_Sure Elle, have a good day" he says before hanging up._

I rub my face and run a hand through my hair before climbing out of bed. I dress in some casual clothes and following the scent of brewing coffee to the kitchen.

"Morning everyone" I say as I amble in.

The three of them are sitting at the table drinking coffee and devouring what look like Danish Pastries.

"Morning sleeping beauty" Alice says with a smile.

"Help yourself to coffee" says Scott as I grab a mug and pour some in before sitting down with them.

"So what time are we heading off?" I ask Alice.

"I assumed that was your phone I hear d ringing. What's wrong with lover-boy? Missing you is he?" she says with a grin.

"No, it was Bradie actually. He's taking the kids to the beach. Andy is still in bed, apparently he was next door with Vicki last night until late."

"Doing what?" Alice says.

"No idea. All I know is he didn't get home until three Bradie said. "

"She was probably plotting ways of stealing Andy from you" Alice says with a smile.

"What? What's this about?"Mike says. Alice fills him in on the whole Andy and Vicki thing and by the time she's done, I've finished my coffee and I'm now doing the dishes for them all.

"Got your hands full at the moment Elle?" Mike says from behind me.

"Nah, I'm not that worried about her to be honest. She'll be leaving soon anyhow."

Scott stands and starts wiping up the dishes with me and soon we're finished. "So are you ladies heading off soon or are you staying for some lunch?" Scott says.

I look to Alice and raise my eyebrows. "What do you think?" I ask her.

"Well I'm not really in a hurry. I have tomorrow off so unless you want to head back now, we could stay for lunch."

"Sounds good to me" I tell them.

We talk about our options and decide to pack the car and make our way up to Bowral in the mountains for lunch before heading home.

By the time we've got everything in our bags and cleaned up our mess it's just after twelve. We congregate out the front next to our cars and when Alice is clear on where we're going we climb in and start our drive.

"So you're not worried about Vicki spending the evening with Andy then?" Alice asks me.

"No, why would I be worried? I know he only thinks of her as a mate, nothing more than that."

"I was just wondering" she says.

"Why do I get the feeling that you know something that I don't?" I ask her.

"Well, I didn't want to say anything really but there was a photo in this morning's paper of Andy and the kids."

"Really? Why didn't you show me?" I ask her.

"Well, there was another photo next to it of Andy and Vicki, but I don't know how old it was. He looked the same really in it though so I'm guessing it was recent."

"So why was that in the paper then?" I ask her.

"There was a bit of a write-up under the picture of him and the kids about how he's settled down from his old drunken ways, taking the girlfriend's kids to soccer I think it said. The other photo of him and Vicki was taken when he was obviously drunk. He had an arm slung around her shoulder and was giving someone the finger I think."

"Why didn't you show me this?" I ask her.

"I didn't want to worry you but I ripped the page out, it's in my bag there on the floor at your feet if you want to take a look."

I bend over and grab her bag before rummaging through it in search of the news clipping. When I find it I put her bag back on the floor and unfold it. The picture of Andy and the kids is a really nice one. He's walking holding Lilly's hand and Max is on his other side. I can just see Bradie's shoe in the picture too so he was just out of shot. They look like they're at the soccer fields judging by the line marking paint on the ground.

The other photo I assume was taken before I had met Andy. He looks really drunk and haggard, his shirt is ripped slightly, hair is a mess and his eyes are half-closed with a bit of bruising on his face. I'm pretty sure the arm around Vicki is there to keep him standing but he is giving someone out of the photo the finger.

I quickly scan the article, ensuring that the kid's names aren't mentioned, and when I'm satisfied that they're not identified I look at the photos again and decide it's not worth worrying about. I fold it back up before saying to Alice "can I keep this?"

"Yeah sure" she says as we pull into the car park of the restaurant.

We get out of the car and I slip the paper into my back pocket before grabbing my bag and shutting the door.

We wander over to where Scott and Mike are waiting and all file into the restaurant before being seated on the veranda with a gorgeous view to accompany us.

The hills and forestry surrounding the restaurant is breathtaking and we all sit in silence whilst we drink in the scenery.

After placing our orders we talk about the fun we had last night and the prospects of visiting again soon, this time with the boyfriend and kids in tow.

I extend an offer to Mike and Scott to come stay with us anytime they want to and they promise they'll take me up on that one day.

The food is served and it's delicious. After an hour of socialising and listening to Alice reminiscing with them both, we decide it's time to head home.

"Thank you both for such a wonderful weekend" I say to Scott and Mike as we hug and say good bye.

Alice and I hop in and buckle-up before waving furiously to them as we drive out and head for the highway home. I send Andy a quick message to let him know we should be home by around five or so.

It's a quiet drive and I offer to drive for Alice at one point if she's feeling tired. She declines and instead pulls into a Maccas drive through so we can get some coffee. Half an hour later and we both need a pit stop for the toilet and to stretch our legs. After a quick ten minute stop at a service station where we also get fuel, we're on the road home again.

At quarter past five Alice pulls her car into my driveway and I see the front door open and the kids bolt out. Max opens the door as Lilly jumps on my lap and hugs me tight.

"I missed you mum" she says into my neck as I return her cuddle. When she releases me she says a quick hello to Alice before climbing off me so I can get out of the car.

I lean over so Max can give me a hug and a kiss before releasing me. I stand back up and I am immediately engulfed in a huge hug from Andy. He showers my face with kisses before finally planting on my lips.

"I missed you too" I say to him with a smile.

He lets me go and we move to the boot of the car so I can get my things.

"Thank you so much for this weekend" I say to Alice.

"You're very welcome, I'm so glad you came with me" she says.

"We will definitely do that again some time soon" I tell her with a grin as she climbs back in the car again.

We all stand there waving to her as she reverses out the driveway and heads down the street, honking her horn once.

Turning to go inside, Andy flings an arm around my shoulders and it reminds me of the newspaper article.

"Hey, did you happen to see the Sunday paper today?" I ask him.

"No I didn't, why's that?" he asks, opening the door for the kids and I before following us inside.

I dig my hand into my back pocket and pull the clipping out and hand it to him. I watch as he unfolds it and then scans it quickly.

"Oh yeah, this is news-worthy. Why print stories on war and famine when they can write shit like this?" he says shaking his head.

"It's a nice photo of you and the kids though." I say to him.

"You're not upset by this are you?" he asks me raising an eyebrow questionably.

"No, why would I be? I know that photo of you isn't that recent, I've never seen it before."

"Actually that was from a week or so ago, when I went out with Vicki. It was that night after the accident when I got released from hospital" he tells me.

"I thought you said you were home early that night but you couldn't sleep?" I say to him, feeling the shock wash over me.

"Yeah, well, I didn't want you to worry about me. I had a couple of drinks while we were out and I guess with the concussion and all, they really hit me hard. I'm sorry I lied but I didn't want you to be disappointed in me. I don't ever remember who I was giving the finger to. I stayed up that night until I was sober enough to have some Panadol and then came to bed."

I'm a bit hurt by his confession about this, and slightly confused as to why he felt he had to lie to me about it. "Why didn't you trust in me and tell me what really happened?" I ask him.

"I was ashamed of myself" comes his simple reply.

I look at him and I see a glimpse of moisture in his eyes. He obviously feels terribly about this and I wonder if I'm expecting too much out of him too soon.

"Please just tell me the truth next time okay? I expect the kids to occasionally tell me some tall stories, but not you. How come I haven't seen this photo then?"

"I have no idea. I didn't even know anyone had taken it. No doubt I'll get a call from management about this tomorrow" he says.

I sit down on the couch and he sits next to me on the edge of his seat. We sit in silence for a minute or two, his confession to me weighing on my mind. God only knows where the kids are but they are being quiet, perhaps knowing that Andy and I are having a 'grown-ups' conversation.

"I've made us dinner" he says, breaking the silence.

I turn and look at him and give him a half smile. "Thank you, that was nice of you."

"I wouldn't say that until you taste it" he says smiling. "I tried to make Chicken Carbonara but I'm not sure how well it's turned out. The kids helped me with it though."

"I'm sure it will be great."

"How about you go and take a shower before dinner and you can relax a bit in your pyjamas?" he says to me.

"Alright, I'll be back soon" I say to him as I stand. When I walk into the bedroom I see the bed covered in rose petals and a new pair of fluffy flannelette pyjamas in the middle. I gasp out loud before turning around to go and thank Andy.

He's standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame. "What is all this?" I ask him, wrapping my arms around his waist.

"Just wanted to tell you that I missed you and I love you."

I kiss him sweetly before pressing my head against his chest as I hug him tightly.

"Thank you so much. This is beautiful" I tell him.

"Go and have a hot shower and get into your new pyjamas" he says kissing the top of my head.

I release my hold, give him a kiss and head into the ensuite to enjoy my prelude to a relaxing evening.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter seventeen

As I walk back from the bus stop I see Shaun pull into the neighbour's driveway and hops out of the car. He glances up at me and waves before giving himself a gentle forehead smack.

"Morning Shaun" I say to him as I start towards my front door.

"Hey Elle, I keep forgetting that Andy lives with you now. Is he awake yet?" he asks me.

"No, I don't think so, do you need to see him?" I ask as Shaun makes his way up the driveway towards me.

"Yeah, we're supposed to be going to the city today to finalise tour arrangements, didn't he tell you?" he asks me as I open the front door and step inside.

"Come in and have a cuppa whilst I go and wake him."

Shaun follows me in the door and to the kitchen. I flick the kettle on as he takes a seat on one of the bar stools at the bench. "I'll be back in a minute" I say to him as I walk to the bedroom.

I crack the door open and smile as I look at Andy laying face down with his head buried under the pillows. I walk over to him and pull back the sheets and doona, revealing his naked ass. I give it a hard smack and his head flies up and the pillow gets tossed from the bed.

"Ow, what the fuck?" he says as I start laughing at him. He turns his head and gives me a look that says I'm in trouble now.

"Shaun is here, waiting for you. Apparently you have a meeting in the city this morning."

He groans and rolls onto his back, his naked torso glaring at me. I lean over the bed and give him a quick kiss before saying "come on, get up" and leaving the room, with the door wide open.

I walk back to the kitchen and ask Shaun how he takes his coffee.

"White with two sugars thanks Elle" he tells me.

I make him a cup as I ask him how the plans are going for Brooke's birthday party.

"Yeah, everything seems to be going great. I think I have invited everyone now and the only thing left to do is the cake."

"Great work Shaun. I'm really looking forward to it actually. Does she not have any idea of what's going on?" I ask him.

"Nah, I told her we'll go away the following weekend and fed her a story about me being tied up with meetings all week. I think she bought it."

"Oh great. So what are you getting dressed up as then?" I ask him, taking a sip of my coffee as well.

"I'm not sure yet. I'm going to have to organise a costume for Brooke too. Do you think you might be able to help me with that?" he asks me.

"Yeah sure thing. Do you have any ideas about what she might like to go as?"

"I was thinking a fairy or an angel perhaps? I'm not real sure."

"That sounds good but then what are you going to go as?" I ask.

"Well if we get her a fairy costume, then probably an elf or something and if we get an angel costume I could wear a devil's outfit. That could be fun. How about we try for an angel's costume?" he says with a grin.

"You're only saying that so you can walk around with a devil's fork all night."

"Exactly! But seriously, what do you think?" he asks me.

"I reckon a fairy's costume would be prettier and probably suit Brooke better. But you can still wear a devil's costume you know. Or how about a sexy vampire like out of True Blood or something like that?"

"Hey, that's a good idea" Shaun says I hear Andy emerge from the bedroom.

"Morning Shaun" he says as he walks up to me and cuddles me from behind.

"Hey Andy, glad to see you up and ready to go, as always" Shaun says with a grin.

"Coffee" Andy grumbles as he buries his face in my neck.

I reach over and grab the cup I made him off the bench and nudge him with my elbow. "Here you go" I say as his hand comes up from my waist and grabs the cup out of my hand.

"I love you so much" he says kissing my neck before releasing me and leaning against the bench.

He holds the mug to his lips and takes a mouthful before sighing and putting it down on the bench. "So what were you two talking about?"

"I was asking Elle to run away with me and start a hippy colony with me in Queensland. She was about to give me her answer" Shaun says with a serious look on his face.

I roll my eyes and look at Andy who's scowling now. "I bet she says no. She can't resist my 'love stick'. There's no way she'd leave me for you" he says to Shaun and I realise its pointless even telling him what we were really talking about. The two of them soon get engrossed in a conversation about imaginary colonies, pornographic ideas and the size of their penises.

Instead I finish my coffee and rinse my cup out in the sink. When there is a bit of a break in the conversation I cut in and say "So haven't you two got something else you're supposed to be doing?"

Shaun looks at his watch before saying "oh fuck, we're going to be late."

He stands and hands his cup to me and heads for the front door. "I'll go get Bradie and meet you at the car" he calls over his shoulder on his way out.

"Alright" Andy responds before finishing his coffee and putting the cup in the sink.

"I'm going to brush my teeth and then I'll be out of your hair okay?" he says wandering into the bedroom again.

I grab my phone off the bench and slip it into my back pocket before finding a notepad and start making a shopping list. I'm almost finished it when Andy resurfaces.

"So what are you up to today?" he asks me grabbing his wallet and phone from the bench.

"I just have to duck into work and grab the books and then I'm going to do some groceries then I'll be home again. How about you? When do you think they'll be home?"

"Probably around dinner time I would imagine. I'll give you a call when we're on our way. Love you" he says as he leans over and gives me a kiss.

"See you tonight" I say as he goes out the front to meet Shaun and Bradie.

I finish off my list and fold it before putting it in my pocket with my phone and grabbing my keys and bag and head out the door to my car.

The guys are still out the front, Andy and Bradie are arguing over who gets the front seat.

I unlock my car and wave to Shaun who has noticed me. He waves back and I grin at him.

"Bradie just get in the front" I yell out to them, and their heads swing around in surprise.

"But I was here first" Andy says to me.

I shake my head and yell out to them all "Have fun" as I climb in my car and start it up. Reversing out of the driveway I notice that Andy has given up and climbed in the back seat. Bradie is wearing a triumphant grin on his face as he closes his door.

I beep the horn and heap for Tinkerbells.

When I arrive Sandra is busy serving so I duck out the back, grab the folder she's left for me on my desk and wave to her as I leave again.

I drive to Woolworths, grab a trolley and then set about getting some more groceries since Andy and the kids ate everything in sight on the weekend so it would seem.

With the trolley full I make my way to the register and start unloading. The lady in front of me keeps glancing at me and I can't for the life of me understand why. I ignore the looks she's giving me and finish loading the things on the conveyor belt as she turns and leaves. I grab a paper from the stand next to the checkout and throw that up there too.

When all the groceries are bagged and back in my trolley and paid for I head for the car to load up. On the drive home I wonder how I'm going to approach the subject of money for these things with Andy. I mean I'm doing just fine but I can't feed a family of four now, especially with his appetite, on a part time wage.

When I pull into the driveway I climb out and as I'm opening my boot my phone rings in my pocket. I check the display and see that it's Andy.

"_Hey babe, what's up?" I say to him as I tuck the phone under my chin and grab a couple of bags._

"_Have you seen today's paper yet?" he asks me._

"_I just bought it but I haven't had a chance to look at it yet, why's that?" I ask him._

"_There's an article in there about you and me and the kids, just thought I'd warn you."_

"_What? Why are they writing about us?" I say as I unlock the front door._

"_I can't really talk right now, management is here and I have to go back in but when you get a chance to look at it, give me a call okay?" _

"_Yeah, sure, I just got home anyhow. Talk to you soon."_

"_Okay gorgeous. Bye" he says as he ends the call._

I dump the bags on the bench with my phone and head back to my car again to retrieve the rest of the groceries. I hurriedly unpack everything and put it away before grabbing the paper and looking through it.

My eyes settle on a photo taken of the kids and me at the park. You can just make out my face in it. Next to it is a photo of the four of us, the one taken at the restaurant the other night and underneath it all is an article about how Andy and I are playing 'happy families' now, despite his alleged drinking problem and the death of the twins father recently.

My anger boils in my blood and I suddenly see red. How the hell did these people find out about all this? They've even named the kids in the article and their father's details too.

Someone who knows us has obviously talked, but who? Who the hell would stoop so low?

I dial Andy's number and as it starts to ring I hear someone knocking. I walk to the front door and open it just as Andy answers the phone. I quickly mumble 'hang on a tick' to him as I look at the courier standing in front of me.

"I have a letter here for an Elle Piper" he says.

"Yes that's me" I tell him and he hands me an envelope along with a notepad that I have to sign.

I quickly scribble my signature and pass it back to him before shutting the door.

"_Hey babe, sorry, there was a courier guy delivering a letter to me" I tell Andy as I walk back to the bench._

"_Who's sending you mail by courier?" he asks me._

_I look at the big envelope and read the return address printed in the top left corner. "It says Washington, Stock & Partners Lawyers" I say to him as I try to tear one end open._

"_Did you see the paper?" he asks me._

"_Yeah I did, who the hell has been squealing to the press?" I say as I finally get the end of the envelope open._

"_I have no idea but management is looking into it all. Apparently they are looking at suing for slander and hoping to have a retraction printed soon."_

_I pull the papers out of the envelope and start to read them through quickly whilst Andy is talking to me._

_I realise quickly that this is serious stuff and I draw a gasp as comprehension dawns on me. I guess Andy hears it because he's suddenly stopped rambling and is silent._

_I continue to read through and flick the page over to see the rest of it. _

"_Elle, what is it gorgeous? What's wrong?" he says._

_I wipe a tear from my face as I say to him "Dean's parents are challenging for custody of the twins. They claim they're being raised in a harmful and detrimental environment." I pause and take a breath before saying" Andy, they want to take away my babies" before dissolving into sobs._


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

ANDY'S POV

I'm listening to Elle sobbing on the other end of the phone and I feel useless. What fucking moron would want to take away her kids? I don't know what to do to help her and wish like hell I wasn't in Sydney. Why does shit always happen when I'm not there?

I look up as I see Bradie walk towards me from down the hall, shaking his head as he goes. "What's taking you so long? They're waiting on you."

"Honey, hang on okay, just hang on" I say into the phone before putting my thumb over the mouthpiece. "Elle's ex in-laws have filed for custody of the twins" I say to Bradie.

"What? Why would they do that?" he says, clearly as outraged as I am. "Is Elle okay?"

"No she's not. Listen, ring Mum and see if she's home and ask her to go over" I tell him.

I listen to Elle crying and try to think of soothing things to say as Bradie pulls out his phone. He walks away from me as he starts talking and I focus my attention back on Elle.

"Gorgeous, it'll be okay. They haven't got a leg to stand on, trust me. You are a wonderful mother. They can't do this to you. Do you want me to see if the management's lawyers can look into this?" I ask her.

She takes a breath and whispers "No, I'll ring mine as soon as I can calm down enough to talk properly. Hang on a minute."

I hear her put the phone down and in the distance I can make out the sound of her blowing her nose. Her voice comes on the line moments later as she says "I'm okay now. I just had to get that out of the way."

"Are you sure you're okay?" I ask her again.

"Yeah, I feel better now. Oh hang on, there's a knock on the door" she says.

I can hear her movements and the surprise in her voice when she says "Vicki, what are you doing here?"

I look over to Bradie and he shrugs his shoulders at me. I just scowl and shake my head.

"Honey, I've got to go" she tells me.

"Alright but if you need me, call me okay? I'll have my phone on me. Do you want me to talk to management about this?" I ask her.

"No, not yet. I'll see if I can sort something out here. I'll call you later on."

"Alright, I love you" I say to her and she tells me the same before hanging up.

I put my phone back in my pocket and look over at Bradie. "You sent Vicki over?" I ask him.

"What? Mum wasn't home, nor was Dad; she was the only one there. It's better than no one isn't it?"

"Yeah I guess, but still. You probably should have rang Alice before asking Vicki to check on her. Where was Mum anyhow?" I ask him.

"She took Chris to a playgroup or something I think. Listen we've got to go back in there. Is Elle going to be alright?" he asks me.

"She's a strong woman" I reply, not really answering that question, since I have no idea of the answer myself.

I follow Bradie down the hall and back into the conference room. I sit down next to Shaun and ignore the glares I'm getting from everyone.

"Right, now that you're back we can continue with the tour schedule" Phil says. I shoot him an apologetic look and direct my eyes back down to my lap, where I'm typing out a text message to Vicki warning her to be nice.

It feels like forever before we break for lunch and I quickly dart out of the room and dial Elle's number. It goes straight to voice mail so I assume she's on the phone.

I leave her a quick message letting her know we are on lunch and to call me when she can.

Next I try Vicki's number and she answers on the second ring.

"_Hey Andy, what's up?" she says._

"_Are you still over at Elle's?" I ask her._

"_Yeah I am, she's on the phone though to her lawyer I think" Vicki says._

"_You're being nice aren't you?" I ask._

"_Of course I am. You forget I'm a photographer, I have an idea about the legalities of all this crap."_

"_Yeah, sorry. I should have known better. Look, when she gets off the phone, just ask her to call me please?" I tell her._

"_Yeah I will, and Andy, have a little faith in your mate okay. I'm not as evil as everyone thinks."_

"_I know, talk to you soon" I says as I hang up._

Truth be told, I actually thought Vicki might have been behind this mess but now I'm starting to doubt that. What could she possibly gain by hurting me as well as Elle?

ELLE'S POV

I can't believe Vicki is here, being helpful, being nice. I also can't believe that Bradie sent her over. What the hell is going on?

I'm on the phone to Mathew, my lawyer. He has me on hold. I'm still a bit bewildered as to why Vicki is being so nice. When she knocked on the door I nearly fell over. But it turns out that she's been quite useful. Being a photographer she knows a heap about the legalities of photos appearing in public media and has told me about a few that she's gotten in trouble for.

Her phone rings and I watch as she stands and walks away from me. When I think about it, there's no reason for me to not like Vicki. I mean, she is blunt and an in-your-face kind of girl but that's just the way she is. The fact she made a play for Andy a few years back shouldn't really affect the way I feel about her. I know he knocked her back and that he thinks of her only as a mate. It's time to have a cup of concrete Elle.

I'm getting restless waiting for Mathew to come back on the line. I watch as Vicki pockets her phone as she walks back towards me. She raises her eyebrows and mouths 'are you talking?' to me.

"No, still on hold, what's up?" I ask her.

"That was Andy, he wants you to ring him when you get a chance" she tells me. I nod my head at her.

"Elle, do you mind if I make a cuppa?" she asks me.

"Oh sure, sorry I didn't think to offer" I tell her with a grimace.

"It's okay, you have enough to worry about. Do you want one?" she asks.

"Ah yeah, thanks. Hang on and I'll show you where everything is" I say as I get up off the couch and follow her to the kitchen.

I pull out the cups and point out the tea and coffee for her.

"How do you have it?" she says.

"Black with a Sugarine tablet thanks."

I turn the kettle on, give her a smile in thanks and walk back into the lounge.

As I sit down I hear Mathew come on the line.

"_Are you there Elle?" he says to me._

"_Yeah I'm here."_

"_Sorry for the wait, now what can I do for you?" he says._

_I quickly explain to him about the letter I received and what the implications were._

"_So has your partner spoken to his management about this?" he asks me._

"_I think he said they were looking at suing for slander for the 'alcoholic' comment. I don't think he's said anything at all to them about this though."_

"_Alright, leave it with me and I'll see what is going on. Is there any way you can fax that letter to me?" _

"_Yeah sure, what's your fax number and I'll get it to you in the hour" I ask._

After writing it down I hang up the phone and head back to the kitchen.

"How'd it go?" Vicki asks me as she hands me my cup.

I take a sip before telling her what Mathew said.

"I'll just give Andy a call and then I'll head into work so I can fax this."

"Do you want me to come with you?" she asks me.

"If you want to" I say to her, realising that the company is actually keeping me quite calm.

"No probs, I'll just run next door and grab my bag" she tells me, gulping down the rest of her coffee before placing her cup in the sink.

"Alright, I'll see you in a minute."

I watch as she leaves before dialling Andy's number. He picks up on the first ring.

"_Hey, are you okay? What's happening?" he says instead of hello._

"_I'm fine, it's in the lawyers hands at the moment. Stop panicking would you?"_

"_Sorry. Are you sure you're okay?"_

"_Yes, I'm fine. Vicki has been here helping as well. We're going to head into Tinkerbells in a minute so I can fax this letter to Mathew."_

"_So she's being nice?" he asks me._

"_Of course she is. Stop worrying would you; you're going to get grey hairs! You only get them after you've had kids silly, not before."_

"_Alright then, I'll give you a call when we're leaving. I love you" he says._

"_I love you too. I'll talk to you later on."_

We hang up as Vicki comes back through the front door. "Are you ready?" she asks me.

"Yeah, I'll just grab my bag and the letter and we'll get going" I reply.

We climb in the car and make the drive to work. When we go inside I introduce Sandra to Vicki before asking if I can use the fax machine.

"Yeah, sure thing, you know where it is" she says to me, raising her eyebrows at Vicki's presence. I shake my head ever so subtly hoping she doesn't say anything.

Vicki browses around the store whilst I duck out the back and fax the letter to Mathew. When I come back out I find her over by the fairy display.

"Are you ready to go?" I ask her.

She puts the statue she was looking at back on the shelf and turns to face me. "There is some really nice stuff in here. I should probably get Brooke a present while I'm here since I won't be going to her party."

"Really? When do you leave?" I ask her.

"Wednesday next week so I'll miss it unfortunately."

"Well if you want to have a look around, I'll just duck across the road and say hello to Alice. We'll have to get going soon anyhow before the kids get home from school."

"Okay, I'll be here, just grab me when you're ready" she says and I nod.

"Be back soon" I sing out to Sandra as I make my way out the door and across the road.

"Hey stranger" I say to Alice as I walk up to the counter.

"Hey yourself, how are you?" she asks.

"I'm okay I guess, I've been better but you don't need to hear about my problems. I just wanted to thank you again for the weekend. I had a great time."

"Thanks, so did I. Hey, do I need glasses or was that Vicki I saw you walk into Tinkerbells with?" she says.

"Yeah, that's was Vicki. She's helping me with something at the moment."

"And you're letting her? "

"Yeah, she's okay I guess. She's looking for a present for Brooke at the moment."

"Oh no, don't tell me she's going to the party too?"

"No, she leaves next Wednesday but she's still getting her a present."

"You're not all chummy with her now are you?" Alice asks me.

"No, don't panic. But she isn't as bad as what everyone thinks she is. But she certainly isn't my best friend."

"Of course not, I am!"

I laugh at her before saying "I've got to get going but I'll see you on Friday, if not before."

"Alright, see you Elle" she says as I leave.

Sandra is wrapping up the present as I walk in. "Just in time I see" I say as I lean against the counter beside Vicki.

"Yeah, perfect timing" Sandra says.

"So what did you end up getting her?" I ask Vicki.

"That little plug-in nightlight lamp with the fairy and toadstool on it" she replies.

"Oh nice, that will match the clock Shaun bought her" I say.

I can see Sandra giving me a questioning look out of the corner of my eye but I ignore it.

"There you go Vicki" she says, handing her the package.

"Thank you Sandra, it was nice meeting you" she says as we turn to leave.

"Oh Elle, have you got a moment? It won't take long" Sandra says.

I turn to Vicki, handing her the keys and say "I'll meet you in the car" before turning back to see Sandra.

When Vicki leaves the store Sandra says "What is going on? I thought that girl was supposed to be the devil?"

"She's not that bad. Besides, don't they say keep your friends close and your enemies closer?" I reply. "I have to get going so I don't miss the bus."

"I expect to hear more about this on Friday" Sandra says as I wave at her over my shoulder and make my way to the car.

On the drive home I'm quiet and Vicki seems to have noticed this. "Are you okay?" she says just before turning into my street.

"Yeah, just thinking who could have blabbed to the newspaper. It's really scary to know that someone I know, someone I probably trust would tell the newspaper all about my life and my family."

"I honestly can't even begin to imagine. But you should probably talk to Andy about this. It happens to him all the time. Granted, he probably tells way to many people things that shouldn't be made public, but still, he cops the backlash from it all the time."

I glance over to her and back to the road as I turn the car into the driveway. "You're right. I should just wait until he's home and talk to him about it all." My phone buzzes from my back pocket and after I turn the car off and hop out I pull it out to check the display. "Speak of the devil" I say as I open the message from Andy. "He's on his way home now."

"Do you mind if I come to the bus stop with you?" Vicki asks me.

"No it's fine. Come on though or we'll be late" I say glancing at my watch.

The bus pulls in just as we get there and the kids come bounding off. I hug them both tightly and squeeze just a bit too hard.

"Mum, you're choking me" Max says and I release him before grabbing his hand and reaching for Lilly's.

They say hello to Vicki and we walk slowly home. When we get there Vicki excuses herself and I thank her for helping me.

"Anytime Elle, any friend of Andy's is a friend of mine, especially his girlfriend" she says with a smile and a wave.

I'm a little bit in shock to be honest. Did she just call me her friend?


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter nineteen

By the time Andy arrives home the kids have gone out the backyard and are practising their soccer skills.

"Hey honey, how are you doing? Are you alright?" he says as he walks into the kitchen and hugs me tightly.

"I'm okay. Just have to leave it in the lawyer's hands at the moment" I tell him. "I have every faith that Mathew will sort this out for me and it will be over before it even begins."

"Would you mind if I have a look at the letter you got?" he asks me.

"Yeah, if you want to. It doesn't say anything exciting or revealing though" I reply.

Andy releases his hold on me and asks me where the twins are.

"Out the back playing soccer" I say before finding the letter in question and handing it to him. I turn back around and resume chopping the veggies for dinner.

"I'm just going to get a beer and say hi to the kids" Andy says as he wanders out the kitchen and into the backyard.

When dinner is prepped and cooking I go out the back to call the kids in for their bath. I follow them into the house, leaving Andy out the back by himself enjoying his beer. I run the bath for Max, since he's the dirtiest, and ask him to go and gather his pyjamas whilst he's waiting.

I stare into the small bathroom mirror and wonder just how serious this custody challenge is. For Pete's sake, didn't I only just go through something similar to this with Dean? Now his parents have to step in and have a go too? What could have possibly triggered this response from them though? I'm deep in thought about the possible reasons they could have for removing my children from me when Max breaks my attention and points out that the bath is near over-flowing.

I reach over and turn the taps off and ask Max to hop in and wash himself. I leave the bathroom and go in search of Lilly to see if she's okay. I find her on her bed reading quietly to herself. She's started reading these Geronimo Stilton books about treasure hunts and mysteries which she really seems to love. Leaving her in peace I go back to the kitchen to check on dinner.

Andy still isn't inside yet and it's starting to get dark. I stick my head out the back door to ask if he wants me to turn the light on but before the words escape my mouth I realise he is on the phone. I close the door again and keep and eye out for movement out the kitchen window instead.

Shortly after I hear the back door open and then close behind him as he appears before me.

"I was just about to come out and see if you wanted the light on but you were on the phone" I say to him.

"Yeah, sorry, I had to sort some stuff out for the tour. Do I have time before dinner for a shower" he asks me.

Something about the way he's not meeting my eyes tells me he's hiding something but I don't push it. I have enough to worry about at the moment without inventing things to add to the list.

"Yeah sure thing babe, go ahead" I tell him. He leans over and kisses my cheek saying a quick thanks before going to our bedroom.

I resume stirring the gravy for the steak and wait for him to return. I sing out to Max to hop out of the bath and for Lilly to get in. Fifteen minutes later and dinner is served, ready to be put on the table but there's no sign of Andy.

I walk into the bedroom and find him sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at the wall.

"Babe, are you alright?" I ask him as I sit next to him on the bed.

Seemingly shaking away whatever train of thought he was on, he blinks a couple of times, glancing at me before saying "yeah, sorry, I was just thinking of this tour."

"Dinner is ready" I tell him as I stand and wonder what it is he's definitely not telling me.

"Okay" he says and we walk out to the kitchen, Andy sitting at the table with the kids as I place his plate in front of him.

Dinner is quick and quiet and after the dishes are done and the kids settled on the couch Andy announces he's got to duck next door for a minute to see Bradie about something.

I nod my head at him and resume wiping down the table and benches.

After the front door closes I throw the dishcloth in the sink and let my mind wonder about what is going on now.

I hate it when Andy doesn't let me in on what he's thinking about. Surely by now he should realise that he can tell me anything, anything at all. I decide to go and have a shower while the kids are occupied and get into my pyjamas.

When I'm clean and thoroughly heated I put the new pyjamas on that Andy bought me and go back out in the lounge room. Andy isn't back yet, not that I expected him to be, so I sit on the couch with the kids and watch the last ten minutes of Futurama with them.

When it's over I turn the TV off and ask them to go brush their teeth. I straighten up the couch and fiddle around while I wait for them to leave the bathroom. When I hear the light switch off I go into Lilly's room first, giving her a kiss and saying goodnight quietly to her.

Max is sitting up in bed when I enter his room and I sit down beside him.

"What's wrong with Andy Mum?" he asks me.

"Why do you think there's something wrong?" I reply, frowning.

"Well, this afternoon, he wouldn't come and play soccer with us; he was too busy on his phone. And now he's gone out and isn't going to say goodnight to us either" he tells me.

"He's just got some things to sort out with this tour that's coming up in a month or so" I tell him. "It's nothing to worry about."

"Okay Mum. Good night" he says as I kiss his forehead and he lies back on the bed. I pull the doona up around him and leave, switching off his light as I go.

Andy still isn't home so I decide to go and read for a while in bed. Leaving the kitchen light on I make my way into the bedroom, brush my teeth and my hair and settle into bed, several pillows propping me up.

Just before ten o'clock I hear him walk in the front door, quietly closing it and turning off the kitchen light. He appears in the doorway to the bedroom and I glance up at him.

"I'm sorry I took so long" he says as he comes in and lies down on the bed next to me. I put my bookmark in place and put my book on the chest of drawers beside the bed.

"It's okay. Did you get everything sorted?" I ask him.

"Yes and no, I have to go back into Sydney tomorrow but it won't be for long I don't think. When I get home though do you think we could go out for lunch or something?" he says.

"Yeah sure thing, I have to get my work done that I was suppose to do today so I'll do that while you're out if you like" I say to him. "I should have it done by lunch."

He pushes himself up off the bed and walks into the ensuite saying over his shoulder as he goes "sounds good."

I turn the TV on as I hear him brushing his teeth. Setting the off-timer I put the remote on the drawers next to my book and snuggle down under the doona. Andy walks back in the room, climbs into bed and cuddles into the back of me.

He kisses the back of my neck before whispering "I love you, nighty night."

I return the sentiment with a slight amount of amazement that he just wants to go to sleep but quickly dismiss it and enjoy the feeling of warmth that his strong arms bring.

Tuesday morning goes as normal, Andy leaves for the city after we put the kids on the bus. He promises them both that he'll practise soccer this afternoon with them.

After a quick peck on the lips he climbs in his car and drives off. I go inside, switch my laptop on and begin my work.

Around mid morning my phone rings and I answer it without paying much attention.

"_Is this Elle Piper?" _

"_Yes it is" I reply._

"_This is Matthew Kent; I was just calling to let you know that I have a little more information for you about the custody claim that was filed against you."_

"_Okay, do you want to email it to me?"_

"_Yes I can do that. I'll write out the points for you and get it to you by lunch time okay?" he says._

"_That would be great. So they are still going through with it then?" I ask him._

"_It looks that way at this stage. I don't think they have a leg to stand on personally but it is best that we follow through with this and make sure that they don't. Have you spoken to your partner yet about this?"_

"_Not really, why do you ask?"_

"_It seems that he is the main reason as to why they think you are an unfit parent. I believe he's been in the media, quite a bit just recently, in some not so very nice photos and situations."_

_I'm stunned. So this is what it's all about? Andy's ass appearing in print?_

_Apparently I've been quiet for too long because I hear Matthew clear his throat before saying "Well I'll put all the details in an email and get it to you as soon as possible."_

"_Thanks again Matthew" I say before hanging up._

I can not let Andy find out the reason for this. He's going to hit the roof when he hears about it and then he'll blame himself for it all.

I try to focus my attention back to the accounts program but I just can't concentrate at the moment. I stand and stretch before flicking the kettle on and making a cuppa.

Maybe I should just talk to Jim and Carol, find out what the hell is their problem with my boyfriend. I mean, he is in a band, and yes, he may be a bit of a nudist, but really? It's not like he does it in front of the kids, and when I think about it, the only negative time since he's been with me that he's been in the paper was that photo of him and Vicki when he was drunk and concussed.

Besides that one photo, he's proven himself as a responsible man who's protective of his girlfriend's kids. It's hardly reason to try to take them away because of a couple of ass-shots and a finger to the camera.

I finish my coffee and decide to plunge back into work; the sooner I get it done the sooner I can concentrate on what's going on with the rest of my life.

Amazingly I have everything finished before midday and have even managed to do some washing and tidy up whilst I wait for the email.

I hear the chime of my email program and quickly open the new message from Matthew.

_Dear Elle,_

_Please find attached further documents that were submitted to the court in support of the claimant's case. Have a look through them and let me know of a time that we can schedule a phone interview to review them together._

_The main points of interest that the claimants present are that the children are endangered, both morally and physically by the presence of your partner, Mr Andrew Clemmensen. They have used a newspaper as a source for their claims, citing that Mr Clemmensen is a borderline alcoholic with anger issues._

_Again, please don't read too much into these statements but perhaps you could make Mr Clemmensen aware of the situation and he might like to contact his lawyers to discuss a possible slander/defamation case._

_I will await your call to arrange a time to discuss these matters. If you have any questions at all please don't hesitate to call me._

_Yours Sincerely_

_Matthew Kent _

I re-read the email once more before opening the court documents that are attached.

I'm halfway through when I hear Andy's car pull up the driveway. I quickly close my email account and shut down my laptop before he comes inside.

I'm putting it back in my laptop bag as I hear the lock tumble and the door open.

"Hey gorgeous" I hear him say and instantly I plaster my 'nothings wrong, everything's okay' look on my face.

With a smile I ask "How was your morning?"

"Yeah it was alright. How about yours?" he says, that look of worry is still in his eyes but he's trying to cover it with a smile.

"It was good. I got all my stuff done that I needed to so I'm all yours."

"Great. How about we just grab some fish and chips or something and go to the park? Feels like forever since we just went and did nothing, just relaxed and enjoyed each other."

"Sounds great" I say with a genuine smile. It's probably just what the doctor ordered actually. "Just let me go and put on some clean clothes and we'll head off" I tell him as I walk towards the bedroom.

"I've just got to see Mum about something but I'll meet you out at the car" he says as he darts back out the front door.

I shrug at his sudden departure but go and get ready regardless.

Five minutes later and I'm leaning against Andy's car, enjoying the sunshine on my face. I can hear raised voices coming from next door and I wonder what it is that they're getting upset about. My head swings in the general direction of their house as I hear the front door slam.

Andy is striding his way down the driveway of his parent's home, his head down, muttering to himself. As he rounds the fence-line and heads to his car his head rises and he looks up at me.

"Are you okay?" I ask him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry. Mum and I are having a difference of opinion" he says as he unlocks the car for us.

"Anything you want to talk about?" I ask him as I get in the passenger seat, closing my door behind me.

"No, it'll work itself out I'm sure. Lets go and get some lunch, I'm starving" he says, glancing my way and shooting me a grin.

I return his smile and focus my attention on enjoying our time together.

After getting fish and chips from the local shop we drive to the park and walk to our spot by the lake that holds so many memories for us. I look out at the water as we sit on the travel rug and pick at the greasy food that is spread in front of us. I honestly don't know how Andy eats so much and still looks as good as he does. He's devoured two pieces of cod and is now giving the salty chips a hammering.

I've eaten plenty and now I'm thirsty from all the grease and salt I ingested. Taking the lid off my bottle of diet Coke I take a mouthful before looking over at Andy. With my mind made up I decide to just come out and ask him.

"Andy, what's wrong?" I say.

He looks over to me and shrugs his shoulders before swallowing the mouthful of chips he just stuffed in there. "Nothing, why?"

"Come on, I know there's something you're not telling me."

He glances back down at his hands and shakes his head slightly. "It's nothing, really. Just tour stuff that I need to get sorted out. Nothing for you to worry your beautiful head over" he says before leaning over and kissing me softly.

Obviously it's a ploy to divert my attention, and it works because before I know it I'm on my back and Andy is on top of me, kissing me with sweetness and a passion I haven't felt from him in a while. I sense he's afraid of something, or maybe making the most of our time together. Maybe he is just genuinely having issues with the tour.

Maybe it's nothing to do with me after all.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter twenty

After spending the afternoon in the park together we pack up our things and head home before it's time to pick the kids up. When they disembark from the bus Max immediately ambushes Andy and asks if they're going to play soccer this afternoon.

"Definitely, we'll get you guys into a change of clothes when we get home and then we'll have a game. Do you want me to ask Bradie over too?" Andy says to him.

"Oh yeah, then we can have a real game" he replies. Apparently I don't count as a real player.

Lilly is being quiet, following along behind so I turn my head and have a glance towards her. She looks like she's deep in thought so I leave her be.

When we arrive home, the kids rush off to change whilst I unpack their bags. Andy sends Bradie a text and within a minute there's a knock on the front door.

"Come in" Andy sings out and Bradie opens the door and enters. Surprisingly, he's brought Vicki too.

"Hey Elle, hello brother Andrew" Bradie says, grinning at Andy and I in the kitchen.

"Hey guys" Vicki says from behind.

"Hi Bradie, hi Vicki, how are you both?" I ask them.

They give the standard 'fine' replies as the kids race into the kitchen.

"Come on guys, lets go play" Max shouts enthusiastically and Andy and Bradie follow him and Lilly out into the backyard.

I flick the kettle on and ask Vicki if she'd like a cuppa.

"That'd be great thanks Elle. I hope you don't mind that I came over too, it's just that I wanted to see how you are and if you've made any progress with your lawyer?"

"Oh, I'm doing okay I guess, just everything weighing on my mind at the moment. I actually heard from the lawyer today but I have to call him and schedule a time to discuss everything and go over the documents with him. Actually, do you think you could take a look at them with me?"

"Yeah, sure, I can do that" Vicki replies.

"Only, I don't want Andy to know the details just yet. I'm a little afraid that he may over-react a bit."

"Well he can be a drama queen" Vicki says, earning a smile from me.

"I'll let you know when I can get a spare moment, and thanks again for yesterday Vicki. I'm not sure that I would have managed to cope if you hadn't been here with me" I tell her, genuinely meaning every word I say.

She smiles at me and takes the mug I hand her. "You're welcome Elle."

We take our cups outside and sit at the table and watch Bradie, Andy, Max and Lilly play for a while.

After half an hour of running around Andy calls time out and sits down next to me, panting.

"Are the kids wearing you out?" I say to him.

"A little bit. I think I need a beer" he says as he stands and heads to the fridge. "Any one else?" he asks.

"I'll have a Coke if there's any" Bradie says and Andy grabs a bottle as well as a can and returns to his seat. He hands the Coke to Bradie who is on the other side of the table from us.

We talk quietly whilst the kids are kicking the ball back and forth between them. Andy tells me that he has to go back into Sydney tomorrow again, this time to look at a new guitar. I mentally note this and when he and Bradie stand to continue their game I slide a little closer to Vicki.

"Do you think you can pop over tomorrow when he's in Sydney?" I ask her.

"Yeah, sure thing, I have nothing planned at this stage so that should be just fine."

"Okay, well, just come over when Andy's car has left. I should be home for most of the morning."

Now that we have that sorted out Vicki and I sit back and watch the rest of the match.

When it starts getting dark and cold we all move into the house. I send the kids for their baths whilst Andy suggests we order a couple of pizzas for ourselves and Bradie and Vicki. We all agree and Andy places the phone call.

We make ourselves comfortable in the lounge and watch the Simpson's whilst we are waiting. Lilly cuddles up on Andy's lap and Max puts himself on the floor at Bradie's feet. The episode that is on is an old one, I've seen it a hundred times, so I let my mind drift back to that first day when I met the neighbours. Who knew that they would become such a huge part of my life? I can't even begin to imagine what my life would be like without either of these guys sharing my ups and downs. I've met so many wonderful and beautiful friends thanks to these two.

I don't realise it but I'm smiling serenely at the two of them when there's a knock on the door. Andy's sudden movement breaks my daydream and Lilly lands on my lap as he races for the door, wallet in hand.

I put Lilly on the couch next to me as I stand and head to the kitchen to grab some plates and napkins. Vicki stands as well and offers to help.

We get everything we need and by the time we get back to the lounge room Andy and Bradie already have a slice each in hand and are furiously stuffing their faces.

I look at Max and he's smiling like a mad-man. "I told them not to but they didn't listen" he says, knowing the rule we have about eating in the lounge room. No plate, no napkin, no food.

Both Andy and Bradie look up at me with matching guilty expressions.

I raise an eyebrow at them. "Sorry gorgeous" says Andy, reaching for a plate.

"Um, yeah Elle, I'm sorry, I didn't know Max was being serious" Bradie tells me.

"Its okay" I say, handing him a plate.

Vicki and I both take our seats and I dish up a slice each for the kids and hand it to them. The evening continues in a relaxed and happy manner and when the kids go to bed, Bradie and Vicki decide to head off as well. Apparently they both have assorted things they have to get done.

Suddenly, being left alone with Andy, I feel a little nervous. I know he's hiding something from me, and here I am doing the same thing to him. Only I'm hoping he is unaware of my guilt.

We clean up the mess we all made and turn off the lights, choosing to spend the rest of the evening in the bedroom instead. Andy heads straight for the shower and I turn the TV to see if anything decent is on tonight.

"Hey gorgeous, can you come here for a minute" he sings out to me. I throw the remote on the bed behind me and go into the ensuite. I slide open the glass shower door and say "What's wrong?" to him.

He's halfway through washing his hair and there are suds of shampoo trailing down his body.

Grinning at me he says "nothing's wrong" before grabbing my hand and pulling me fully-clothed into the shower with him, pressing his mouth to mine under the water, obviously having other ideas for the evening.

After Andy leaves for the city Wednesday morning, I make a call to Sandra at the shop and let her know I'll be in this afternoon sometime to pick up the books. She's fine with that and tells me to leave it until tomorrow if I want to. Unsure of my plans today I thank her and tell her "we'll see."

I'm out the backyard hanging out the washing when I hear my name called softly. Glancing over my shoulder I see Vicki on the other side of the fence.

"He's gone, just let yourself in the front door" I tell her as I finish pegging Andy's socks on the line.

I leave the basket on the path and walk inside.

"Morning Elle, how are you?" Vicki greats me as she enters.

"I'm good, and yourself?"

"Yeah I'm alright."

"Would you like a coffee?" I ask her.

"No thanks, I just had one not long ago."

"Alright, just let me grab my laptop and boot it up so I can show you the documents I was talking about.

I set it up and then log into my email account. Opening up the attachments to Matthew's email I enlarge them on the screen as Vicki takes a seat next to me.

We quietly read through all the information and when we're finished Vicki sits back and raises her eyebrows at me.

"So basically their whole reason for asking for custody of the twins is because you live with a guy who occasionally gets drunk, naked and pissed off at people taking photos? None of this, however, when the kids are around him. This is just so fucked up its ridiculous. They haven't got a leg to stand on, seriously. I really don't think you have anything to worry about" Vicki tells me.

I lean back and allow a sigh of relief to escape.

"What did your lawyer say?" she asks.

"Basically the same thing but I have to ring him and make a time to go over all of this with him. Although, I'm starting to wonder if I should just call Jim and Carole and talk to them about it. I mean, as far as I was aware, we're still friends."

"Your lawyer would probably advise you not to do that, it might come back on you if they were to accuse you of trying to talk them out of it."

"Yeah, I know, but still, they're not the type of people to do this, you know? I just don't see why all of a sudden they launched this bid for custody. It doesn't make sense to me."

"Maybe someone has been encouraging them?"

"Yeah, but who and why? They know that they are welcome to come and see the kids anytime they want to. I mean, I know they live in Victoria but still, they know they can."

We both fall silent as I work out possible scenarios and motives that could be behind this. The front door abruptly opens and in walks Andy.

I'm surprised by his sudden appearance and quickly slam shut my laptop.

"Hey, what's happening?" he says to me raising an eyebrow in question.

"Nothing much, just talking. You're back early" I comment.

"Didn't end up going, I'll head in tomorrow instead. Bradie phoned me and told me we are supposed to have practice this afternoon anyhow so I didn't bother."

"Oh, okay. Do you want a coffee or something to eat?" I ask him as I nervously glance to Vicki and then to back at him.

"So how come you're over here anyhow Vic?" he asks her.

"Oh, just thought I'd pop over and say hello. I saw you leave earlier and decided to drop by. I've got to get going anyhow, I have an appointment in half an hour."

"Okay, I'll see you later then" Andy replies, walking past me and into the kitchen.

I glance at him before focusing my attention to Vicki. "Thanks for calling over" I say to her as I walk her to the door.

"You're welcome, thanks for the coffee" she replies as I open the door.

"Talk to you later" I reply as she leaves. I turn and head back into the kitchen.

Andy is staring at me with a strange look on his face. "What's going on?" he says.

"Nothing, why?" I say, trying hard to appear innocent.

"Vicki is here, you guys are being nice, she said thanks for the coffee but clearly didn't have one since there are no cups in the sink or on the table, you slammed your laptop shut as soon as I entered the room. Now tell me, what is going on?"

Thinking fast I say "Vicki was showing me some of the shots she's taken in the past, that's all. She's not as bad as I first thought she was. Is that okay with you though? If I'm friends with your best friend? I know you got your nose out of joint when Bradie and I became close friends" I say to him, not quite believing the smart-ass remarks leaving my mouth.

"What's gotten in to you?" he says. "I only wanted to know what was going on. You're acting like you're hiding something."

"I could say the same thing about you lately" I tell him, feeling my anger rising.

"Are you saying you don't trust me? That I'm lying to you?" Andy says, his voice rising and his temper clearly brewing.

"Not at all, but I know there's something you're not telling me and what ever it is, it's making you crazy."

"Clearly" he says as he storms out of the kitchen and out the front door. I hear his car start and I lean on the kitchen bench, trying to calm myself down. Lying to Andy is the worst thing I think I've ever done, I feel like my insides are trying to escape, I'm so tense.

I go into the bedroom and retrieve my joggers, deciding to go for a run to try and ease the tension in my body. I change into a pair of shorts, pull on some socks and then my shoes. Putting the house keys in my pocket I walk outside, locking the door behind me.

I do a couple of stretches and walk down the driveway, when I reach the bottom I break into a light jog and head down the road.

I think I'm gone for around an hour; I stopped at a nearby park and did some stretching when I was halfway through my run. When I return to the house feeling more relaxed, both Andy and Bradie are out the front loading guitars and drums into Bradie's car. I wave to them both as I walk up the driveway and unlock the front door.

I go straight into the shower and when I get out five minutes later, Andy is sitting on the bed, his hands in his lap, his head hanging low.

He lifts his face and says a quiet 'hello' to me as I walk out wrapped in a towel.

"Hey" I say to him.

"I'm sorry about before. I was right out of line, accusing you of hiding things from me. I don't know where that came from and I'm so sorry" he says.

I'm a little stunned at his apology, even more so by the appearance of moisture in his eyes.

I fall to my knees in front of him, grabbing his hands as I do and looking him in the eyes.

"I love you, so very much. I'm sorry for saying those smart-ass things before and making you so angry" I tell him.

"Gorgeous, don't apologise. I shouldn't have said those things and reacted like that" he tells me. I launch myself at him and hold him tight. His arms wrap around my back and hold me close to his chest. Pulling my head back I place a soft kiss to his lips then move my hands to his hair, running my fingers through it before settling at the nape of his neck.

With our foreheads pressed together, Andy looks me in the eyes and says "I will always love you. Don't ever forget that."


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter twenty-one

When Andy returns from practice at six o'clock, I'm just putting dinner on the table. The kids look up at him as he enters and say hello. He heads over to where I'm standing in the kitchen and kisses my cheek saying a quiet hello in my ear.

I watch as he sits at the table and asks the kids how school was whilst I grab my plate and join them. We eat dinner in relative silence; Andy obviously has something on his mind. I try to keep the conversation going but it's like pushing a rock up a hill. In the end I give up and just concentrate on my dinner.

Afterwards, I do the dishes by myself whilst he has a shower and the kids watch TV. After I have finished cleaning up I make my way to the bedroom, wondering where he's disappeared to. When I walk in the room I see him bundled up under the doona in bed. I glance at my watch and see it's only quarter to eight.

Walking over and sitting on the bed beside him I say "Are you okay?"

He rolls his head to the side to look at me and I notice the dark circles under his eyes. "I'm just tired. I think I might just try to catch up on some sleep, if that's okay?" he says, almost in a whisper.

I gently run my fingers through his hair and say "no problems, I'll leave you in peace. Do you want your Ipod?"

"That'd be great thanks" he says and I stand and go out to the kitchen to retrieve it. When I bring it back for him he's still in the same position I left him.

I put it in his outstretched hand and bend to kiss his forehead. "I'll be back later" I say to him as he turns it on.

"Alright" comes his reply but I can tell he's not really paying attention now that he has his music in front of him.

Leaving the room, I close the door behind me and sit with the kids on the couch for a while. Maybe Andy is coming down with a flu or something. He isn't looking very happy or healthy at the moment, so it's making me wonder.

After the kids are tucked in bed I roam the house wondering what to do with myself. I'm not tired and nothing is on TV. I power my laptop up and decide to get some work done instead, making the most of the peace and quiet. Besides, if I do this now I might be able to go into Sydney with Andy tomorrow instead.

At eleven thirty I finally finish everything up. I shoot a quick email off to Matthew to let him know that I'll be available for an interview tomorrow afternoon or Friday afternoon then I shut everything down and put my laptop away.

I go and take a quick shower, careful not to disturb Andy as I remove his ear buds from his ears and go into the ensuite. When I'm done I quickly run to bed, climbing in naked and snuggling into the back of him. He stirs ever so slightly and then starts softly snoring again.

I close my eyes and try to relax enough to sleep. Eventually, after an hour or so, I drift off.

Thursday morning I wake up alone to the alarm at six am. I get up and use the bathroom before going to the kitchen to look for Andy and make a coffee.

There's a note pinned to the fridge saying: _I didn't want to wake you, I got an early start and decided to head into Sydney before the rest of the traffic. Will call you later on. X_

'Well, there goes my day' I think to myself as I turn the kettle on.

When the kids are ready I walk them down to the bus stop. When I'm back and approaching the front door I hear my name called from next door and head up their driveway instead.

Bradie is sitting on his front step with a cup of tea in his hands.

"Morning" I say as I approach and sit next to him.

"Hey, how are you doing?" he asks me.

"I'm okay, how about you?" I say.

"Yeah I'm good. What are you up to today?"

"Nothing really, I was going to go to Sydney with Andy but he got up really early and went without me so now I've got no plans. What about you?"

"Nope, nothing. I thought about going to the shopping centre and grabbing some new games later on, if you want to come with me?" he says.

"Yeah sure thing, I'll come. But I have a phone call this morning to make, but after that, I'm all yours."

"How are things going? Andy told me about the in-laws filing for custody."

"Yeah, that's what my phone call is for; I have to sort some things out about that. Some of the things they are saying are ridiculous really" I tell him.

"Like what?" he asks me.

"Oh just silly things really, I'd rather not say though" I tell him, suddenly wishing I had kept my mouth shut.

"Is it about Andy?" he says immediately.

I swear I tried to hide the look of shock on my face but apparently I don't succeed.

"So it is about Andy. What are they saying?" he says.

"How did you know?" I ask him instead of answering his question.

"His chin was nearly touching the floor yesterday at practice, he kept mucking up every song we tried and you could tell his mind was somewhere else."

"Really because I haven't said anything to him about it" I reply.

"Well something is worrying him and I guess I assumed it was this court case mess."

"I've noticed a change too but he won't tell me what's going on. He went to bed before eight o'clock last night. But he looks like he hasn't been sleeping at all lately."

"I don't know what's going on with him either. I was going to ask him yesterday but with the mood he was in I wasn't game enough."

We sit in silence pondering Andy's change of late for a while before my ringing phone in my pocket interrupts the peace and quiet. I pull it out and check the display before answering.

"_Hello?"_

"_Hi Elle, it's Matthew Kent here, do you have 5 minutes to talk?" he says._

"_Yeah sure, do you think you can ring me back in a minute though, I'm almost at home?"_

"_Sure, talk to you soon" he says before hanging up._

"I've got to go and take this call at home but I'll come over when I'm finished and we'll go for a shopping spree hey?" I say to Bradie.

"Sure thing, just come in when you're ready" he says as I stand and walk home again.

As I'm powering up the laptop to view the documents my phone rings again.

"_Hi Elle, it's Matthew again. Are you ready?" he says._

"_Yeah sure, I'm just bringing the documents up now."_

We spend half an hour on the phone, going over every possible detail and any evidence that I can think of that will help my case. When I approach the idea I had about contacting Jim and Carol directly Matthew immediately shoots the idea down in flames. "_We definitely don't want you to do that. It will come back to bite you in the butt if you do." _

When I eventually hang up I turn my laptop off and go and get changed, deciding a day of spoiling myself is needed. When I'm decent I go next door again to find Bradie on the phone, arguing with someone. I point to the front door so he knows I'll wait for him outside and I make myself comfortable on the front step in the sun.

A couple of minutes later he joins me on the step, sitting down and sighing heavily.

"That was Andy on the phone. He said he was trying to ring you and when I told him you were probably on the phone to your lawyer he got really shitty. He said that I know more than he does about things that are going on. When I tried to explain that I only knew that because you were here when your lawyer rang he then started on me about the amount of time we spend together. I'm telling you Elle, there's something seriously wrong happening here. I don't think I've ever seen him like this before."

"I know. I just don't know what to do about it at the moment. I can't force him to talk to me and tell me what the problem is. I guess I just have to wait it out and hope he trusts me enough to tell me."

"Yeah I guess. I could try and beat it out of him" Bradie says with a grin, which earns him a giggle from me.

"Nah, not yet" I tell him. "Come on, lets go spend some obscene amounts of money" I say to him as we stand and walk to his car.

Bradie and I spend our afternoon going from shop to shop, buying whatever we feel like. I got the kids some new clothes and some soccer gear each, including a new ball. I even bought Andy a new pair of jeans since the ones he wears all the time are slowly losing the ass out of them. Bradie got some clothes too and spent a good hour in the gaming shop browsing the new stuff and talking to the girl behind the counter about some remake of a game that is coming out. I kind of zoned out around that time, having no interest really in video games myself. I took the opportunity though to check my phone for messages before telling Bradie I'd meet him in the food court.

I got a coffee, found a quiet table and sat down to wait for him. Pulling out my phone I sent a quick message to Andy asking if he was okay and letting him know I was out shopping. I didn't receive a reply by the time Bradie joined me, frozen coke in one hand a big bag of games in the other.

We sat for a while discussing our purchases before making the long trek to the car park and back home again.

"Thank you so much for taking me out today" I tell him in the driveway. "It really helped me take my mind off of everything."

"You're very welcome Elle. Are you working tomorrow?" he asks me.

"Yeah I sure am."

"Okay, I might call in and see you. I still haven't got anything for Brooke yet for her birthday next weekend."

"No worries, I'll see you tomorrow then" I say to him as I carry my bags inside the house. I lay everything on the kitchen table and start to sort through it all. I place the kid's things on their beds and put Andy's new jeans on the bed for him to try on when he gets home.

Thinking of Andy reminds me that he still hasn't replied to my text. I decide to give him a quick call instead.

Dialling his number I sit down on the edge of the bed and wait for him to answer.

"_Hello" he says, sounding agitated._

"_Hey, it's me, just wondering if you got my text earlier."_

"_Oh yeah, I did. Sorry I haven't replied yet, just been busy that's all."_

"_Okay, well are you going to be late tonight?"_

"_No, I'll be heading home soon actually. I should be home by dinner I think" he tells me._

"_Alright then, I'll see you then" I say to him as we say our goodbyes._

I finish putting everything away and make the walk to the bus stop to wait for Max and Lilly. The bus arrives and I give them both a hug before returning home again. I ask them the usual questions about school and get them started on their homework while I pull stuff out for dinner. I prep everything and have dinner ready to go by the time the kids finish.

I get them packed up and in the bath whilst I start cooking. Andy comes in the door right as I'm serving it up and he sits at the table with the kids whilst I put their plates in front of them. Two nights in a row we have a quiet dinner with hardly any discussions. The tension in the air is slight but it's there.

I clear the table after dinner and Andy helps me with the dishes tonight instead of slinking away to the bedroom. But just as I'm wiping down the benches I see him hang the towel up and leave the kitchen, saying 'shower' over his shoulder at me.

Oh great. Here we go again. I sit on the couch with the kids until I hear the shower turn off and I go into the bedroom to wait for him to come out.

He a bit surprised by my presence but still climbs into bed naked citing tiredness as his reasons for wanting an early night again.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I ask him. "You know you can talk to me about anything right?" I ask him.

The look he gives me almost breaks my heart. I can see it in his eyes that whatever it is, he wants to tell me but for some reason he just can't.

"I know, and I'll be alright. I just need some sleep" he tells me snuggling under the doona again.

I can't help the sigh that escapes my lips before I bend over and kiss him softly on the lips.

"Goodnight" I say to him before standing and leaving the room.

I spend the night with the kids until they go to bed and then I'm left to my own devices. I watch a stupid movie on TV about some woman who's in love with her gay best friend. When it's over I go to bed, cuddling into Andy and falling asleep with the scent of his skin fresh in my mind.

When I wake Friday morning our position is reversed and he's cuddling me tightly from behind. I can feel his breath in my ear and he stirs a little as I start to move to get out of bed.

"No, just stay a minute longer" he says from behind.

I lower myself back down and savour the warmth of his arms possessing me.

When the alarm starts to blare I sit up and turn it off before going for a shower and leaving Andy in bed by himself. When I get out I ask him if he's going to hop up and have breakfast. He nods and climbs out, heading for the shower.

I go and start on the coffee and make some scrambled eggs on toast for us all. When Andy emerges the kids are already at the table eating their breakfast.

We sit together as a family and when the kids get on the bus for school, Andy has walked down to the stop with us.

On the walk back I ask him what his plans are for the day.

"Nothing really at this stage. I was thinking I might call in and say hello today if I'm down that way."

"Sounds good" I tell him, hoping he stops by at lunch time.

I get dressed and ready for work when we get home and when I leave for work Andy is hanging out the washing for me.

Sandra is pleasant when I arrive, already serving a customer. I give her a little wave and make my way to my desk to get started for the day. At morning tea time a cup of coffee is placed on my desk by Bradie.

"Hey there, how are you doing?" he says to me with a grin.

"Oh hey, are you here to get Brooke a present?" I ask him.

"Yeah, I was hoping you could show me what Shaun and Vicki have bought her and maybe suggest something for me to get" he says.

"No worries at all, come on and I'll show you" I say to him grabbing my coffee and coming back out into the store.

"I'm going over the road to grab something to eat" Sandra says to me on her way out the door and I give her a wave goodbye.

Bradie and I wander around the shop and he finally decides on a set of three prints with three fairies in different poses. I wrap them for him and he hands over his credit card to me to pay for them.

Before he leaves he asks me about my weekend plans but I have none to tell him. There's nothing coming up that I know of and I tell him this. After a suggestion to have a BBQ we say goodbye and I go back to work, wishing the day away so I can spend some time with Andy and the kids instead.

Lunch is spent sitting across the road, waiting on Andy to reply to a text I sent him. I give up on him by the time I have to go back to work and I'm feeling a little let down by him.

Alice was flat out and couldn't spend anytime with me either so by the time three o'clock came around I was ready to leave.

I say goodbye to Sandra and make the drive home. Road works delay my drive and by the time I approach home it's almost time to pick the kids up. I drive directly to the bus stop to make sure I don't miss them and as I park the car, the bus rounds the corner.

I jump out and give them both hugs before bundling them into my car and driving home.

When we pull in to the driveway I notice that Andy's car is gone and when we open the front door the kids race to their bedrooms and unpack their bags. I throw my bag on the counter and notice there is an envelope on the bench. I pick it up and turn it over, noticing that it's sealed.

On the front is my name. It's written in Andy's handwriting.


	22. Andy's letter to Elle

Dear Elle,

I know this isn't what you want at the moment and you're going to hate me for it, but it's for the best.

I know why your in-laws filed for custody. I had our lawyer look into it for me. He got his hands on the court's paperwork and the supporting documents. I know that they think I'm a drunk and I understand why they don't want their grandkids around me. I can see it from their point of view.

If we had eventually gotten married and I became a part of your family, I would only want the very best for our children and our grandchildren. I understand it, I really do.

This is why I'm leaving now. So that you have the opportunity to find someone who can be an outstanding father and role model to the beautiful children you have. If I stay, there will be a court case and things from my past will be dug up and thrown in front of everyone. I don't want to put you or the kids through the embarrassment of my previous indiscretions and I don't want to be the reason for you losing them either. I will not be held responsible for that. I love you and Max and Lilly too much to ever do that to you all. You are a family. You belong together. I'm not going to rip it apart, even though it will tear me up inside.

Please don't cry Elle. I know you are upset and I know you're going to hate me for leaving, but you will eventually realise that I'm right about this. If I stay, there is a chance you will lose them. I have to leave, for your sake and for the kids. I just can't risk it. I know that Max is going to hate me with a passion for leaving his Mum. But he will be your rock and will keep you strong. I fear Lilly will never forgive me and for that I'm truly sorry. I'm sure that she will find comfort in your arms, just like she always does.

I want to thank you for loving me. You gave me a chance to become a better person, to be someone I always wanted to be and be proud of myself. You did that. I look at you sleeping at the moment and I wonder how I'm going to find the strength to leave you, to break your heart gorgeous, like I know I will. The only way that I can is by reminding myself that you are the most important person to me in this world. If it means that the problem will be fixed, I'll do it.

I won't be leaving without my heart breaking as well though. Letting you go is going to be the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life, and I imagine nothing is going to come close to it in the years to come. I'm addicted to you Elle. I love you with all my heart and I know that you love me too.

But this is one of those times that love doesn't conquer all. It's not the solution to all of our problems this time. I know it seems like I'm running away from it all, but I'm running to solve them. I will still have my phone, and the same number, but I won't be answering you when you call. And I know you will. But I will listen to your voice mail over and over keep an eye on you from afar. Please don't try and find me though, don't beg me to come back and most of all, please don't hate me.

I have kissed the kids goodbye and now I am about to do the same to you, although I fear that I'm not going to want to let go of you when my lips meet yours. I never envisioned it ending, not at all. But all good things come to an end, and at least this way, there is hope of you finding happiness again.

Just remember that this is for you. It's always been for you.

Andy x

P.S. I will always love you gorgeous.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter twenty-three

"Hey, this is Andy, I can't take your call at the moment so leave me a message and I'll get back to you." I replay it again before hanging up.

I have dialled his number over forty times so far today, just to hear his voice, but never to leave a message.

I was supposed to take Max and Lilly to soccer this morning but I couldn't bring myself to leave the house. Bradie offered to do it for me and I accepted without argument. He stayed last night on the couch after Max ran next door to get him when I collapsed in the kitchen.

Alice is here now with me. She's on the couch and is watching TV but I can feel her glance at me every minute or so. I don't know what she thinks is going to happen. Perhaps she expects me to start screaming any minute or burst into tears.

I haven't said a word since I read the letter he wrote. I can't bring myself to open my mouth and let the thoughts that are swirling in my head be heard. I'm not sure if I want to cry and sob and bawl until I'm dehydrated or to scream at the top of my lungs in anger. I really should have seen this coming. I should have realised that he'd work out what was going on. Bradie did. So why wouldn't Andy?

I release a heavy sigh and look at my hands in my lap. I still have the shakes, although not as bad now. I know I'm sinking into that dark hell hole again in my brain and I should be at the doctors right now getting my script written for some anti-depressants. If I start on them now, perhaps I can make it through this.

I glance over to Alice to see if she's watching me. Sure enough, she is and she gives me a small smile.

"Do you want anything? A drink or something to eat?" she says. I shake my head no and look back at my lap. The watch on my arm says it's now just after ten in the morning. I realise I'm still wearing yesterdays clothes and I probably stink as well. I mentally berate myself for being a slob and stand from the couch, heading for the ensuite and shower.

As I walk through the wardrobe I try to keep my focus on the shower in front of me but in my peripheral view I notice his clothes are gone. There is a massive empty space where his things were. I feel the tears flood my eyes as I turn the shower on and strip myself of my clothes.

Climbing in I let my emotions go, allowing the water to mix with my tears and wash it away before anyone sees me break. I let myself fall to the floor and I lay in the steaming hot water in the base of the shower for what feels like hours. Eventually the water is turned off and someone sits me up and wraps me in a towel.

I look but it's not a face I recognise. There are two of them, and they're in uniform. I see their mouths moving but I can't hear anything. Have I gone deaf? What is wrong with me? There's a light in front of my eyes and I'm trying to blink but my eyes won't listen to my brain. Someone lifts me and through the fog I hear my name. I look again, trying to see past the haze I spot the face of someone I know. Alice.

She reaches out her hand and strokes my head as I'm leaving the room with the other two. I don't realise it at first but I'm on a trolley. They must be ambulance officers I gather. Alice is saying something to me but I can't make out the words. It's like someone has pushed the mute button on my remote and I have to try and lip-read.

Everything is bright suddenly as I realise I'm being wheeled outside. Another face comes into view and it's familiar but the name won't come to me. The woman bends over and kisses my forehead. I know her. I must. She is so familiar but this fog is making everything seem grey.

Suddenly it's dark again as I realise I'm in the ambulance. Alice is next to me. I'm pretty sure she's holding my hand. Her face is near mine and she whispers my name in my ear. I look at her and try to ask what's happening but nothing comes out.

I blink my eyes and I'm in the hospital now. Everything is white and pale green. It smells sterile and there are beeping noises coming from nearby. I look with only my eyes, too afraid to try and move and realise I'm alone. The curtains are drawn around me and I see that there is a drip in my hand. When I wiggle my fingers I realise they have pulse monitor on my index finger too.

My throat is dry and if I tried to talk I'd doubt I actually could. I dry swallow and open my mouth, testing my movements. My head moves when I try and I glance down to my feet under the blanket and move my toes. Everything seems to be working fine. So what the hell happened?

I lick my lips and test my voice but nothing comes out. I try to clear my throat a little and swallow before attempting to say something again. This time I manage to rasp out a quiet 'hello'.

Suddenly a curtain whips open and Bradie is standing there. He practically leaps over to the bed, grabbing my hand in his and putting his other hand on my face.

"Hey, are you okay?" he says.

I frown a little and manage to squeak out "thirsty."

"Oh yeah, sure hang on and I'll get the doctor first" he says before darting out again.

When he comes back he's followed by a lady in a white coat and a stethoscope hanging from her neck. She grabs my chart, has a quick look then puts it back before coming to the head of the bed.

"Hi Elle, I'm Doctor Powers. How are you feeling?" she says.

I try my voice out again and say "thirsty" again.

She pours me out a cup of water and hands it to me as Bradie helps me to sit up. I take a mouthful, the coolness soothing my throat instantly. I swallow again and lick my lips, feeling a little better I lean back on the pillow.

"Elle, do you remember what happened?" says Doctor Powers.

"Not really" I manage to say. I swallow again and clear my throat before continuing. "I'm guessing I had an anxiety attack again?"

"So you've had these before then?" she asks me. I notice Bradie has my hand in his again and it suddenly makes me remember the kids.

I look at him and say "Where are the twins?"

"Alice took them to get something to eat. It's okay, they're fine" he says with a gentle smile.

"Elle, do you take any prescription drugs to treat these attacks at the moment?" the doctor asks me, bringing my focus back to her.

"Ah, no not at the moment. In the past I was on anti-depressants for a while, and that helped but it's been six months or so since I've come off them. I couldn't even tell you the name of them. It feels as though my brain doesn't want to work."

"Alright, I'm going to let your friend here fill you in on what's been happening and I'll be back in an hour or so and we'll check your vitals. If you're up to it we'll let you go home tonight alright?"

"Okay, thanks" I reply, already forgetting her name.

As she leaves the room Bradie leans over and kisses my forehead. "How are you feeling?" he says.

"Confused, what happened?" I reply.

"Well Alice found you on the floor of the shower. You were passed out but had your eyes open. She thought you might have had a fit or something so she called the ambulance and they came and took you to the hospital. Alice rang me when I was on the way home from soccer with the kids and told me what had happened. We came straight here and have been here since. You were unconscious all afternoon. The doctors think it's a combined anxiety attack and reaction to shock."

"What time is it now then?" I ask him.

"It's about seven thirty I think."

I close my eyes and try to picture what Andy would be doing now. I hope they haven't told him about this. Even after the letter I'm still trying to protect him. I still love him. He's hurting as much as I am at the moment and the last thing I would want is for him to hurt some more.

When this is all over with, the court case settled, I'll find him again and I'm not letting him go. It's not an option.

I'm shaken out of my thoughts by the sounds of feet running down the hallway. The sound bursts into the little room I'm sharing with another patient and ends when the curtain is pulled back to reveal Max and Lilly.

"Mummy!" they both cry out before climbing on the bed and hugging the life out of me.

The tears run down my face as I kiss and hug them both. I'm feeling so highly strung at the moment and very emotional. My babies are holding me like they never have before and I'm overwhelmed by the amount of love I feel for them.

I stroke their hair to calm them down a little as Lilly reaches up and wipes away my tears.

"Are you okay Mummy?" she asks me.

"Yes sweetheart, I'm okay" I say to her. Max's look of concern is filling me with guilt and I try to smile at him. "Stop worrying, I'll be fine" I say to him.

The kids climb off the bed and Alice comes and hugs me. "You gave me such a scare" she whispers in my ear.

'I'm sorry about that. We'll talk later though okay" I tell her.

Every one pulls a chair up but it seems they have no idea what to say to me. I know that they know what happened, and that they would have realised that Andy has left. I decide to put them out of their misery.

"So, has any one heard from Andy since he left?" I ask, try to put on a brave face even though the tears have started falling again.

Bradie clears his throat and says "No, we've all been trying to reach him but he's not picking up and no one has seen him."

"If you do hear from him, don't tell him about this please? He doesn't need to know."

"Are you kidding me? He leaves you, in the middle of a court case, stressed to the eyeballs and expects you to get over this without him? He is going to cop the biggest lecture from me when I find him, right before he receives the biggest ass-kicking" Bradie says, raising his voice in anger.

"That's not going to help anyone Bradie, and you know it" I say to him, try to calm him down.

"What's a court case Mum?" says Max.

I shoot Bradie a glare before turning to Max and saying "nothing for you to worry about okay? It's just a grown-ups thing."

He nods his head and hopefully has let it go.

"Knock Knock" I hear from the doorway and we all turn our heads to see Tom in the doorway with Chris on Sarah's hip.

"Can we come in?" Sarah says and I nod my head and smile at her. Tom comes forward and kisses my cheek handing me some flowers as well.

"Oh thank you guys, that's sweet of you" I say as Alice comes and takes them for me and puts them on the little table. Sarah passes Chris to Tom and leans over and kisses my forehead. I have a sudden recollection of her doing this when I was taken away in the ambulance. That was who was talking to me.

"I'm glad you're looking a bit better" she says to me before standing up and squeezing my hand.

"You gave us all quite a scare" Tom says as he passes Chris back to Sarah.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that" I say to them.

"Don't be silly. As long as you are alright now" says Sarah.

The doctor walks in the room at this point and picks up my chart.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you all to leave the room for a few minutes whilst I just check on our patient here" she says as everyone stands and makes their way out.

She takes my pulse and checks my blood pressure, writing everything down on the chart. "So Elle, you mentioned you've previously been on anti-depressants. Do you think something like that would benefit you at the moment, to help keep those attacks at bay and to keep you calm a little bit?"

"I was only thinking that this morning actually" I tell her.

"Your friends out there told me that you've just experienced a break up and have some other issues concerning your children happening in your life right now. I sincerely think that it would of benefit to you to perhaps start back on the medication again. Tell me, do you remember having side-effects with the last ones you were on?"

"I think I was just a bit nauseous and maybe had a bit of a dry mouth for the first few days but besides that they worked fine. I just can't remember what the hell they were called. My brain is still very foggy. It started with an A I think" I tell her.

"Aurorix? Ananfranil? Aropax?" she says, listing off the ones starting with A.

"The last one, Aropax, I think. Is it called anything else?" I say.

"It's a paroxetine based one and sometimes it's called Paxil" she tells me.

"That's the one, I'm positive."

"Okay, well I'm going to give you a script for it and I want you to see your GP within the next month sometime to talk to him about on-going care."

"Alright, thankyou" I tell her.

"I need to just run through some questions with you first though if that's okay?"

"Yeah sure thing, I'll try and remember for you."

"Okay, firstly is there any history of heart or liver disease, kidney disease, diabetes, cancer or blood pressure problems in your family?"

I shake my head no.

"You're not pregnant or breast feeding at the moment?" she asks me.

"I don't think I'm pregnant and I'm certainly not breast feeding."

"Well before you start back on these tablets I want you to do a test. We can do one here if that would be easier for you" she says.

"Yeah okay, but I'm pretty sure I'm not."

"Okay, we'll do that in a minute. Is there any history of neurological dysfunctions or diseases? Any asthma or breathing problems?"

"No, none at all" I reply.

The doctor stands and goes to the cupboards beside my bed and rummages through the drawer for a bit. "I'll be back in a minute" she says as she leaves the room. I sit up and steady myself on the edge of the bed. It's at this point I realise I'm only wearing a hospital gown and nothing else. I hope like hell that it's tied up correctly at the back of it.

The doctor comes back in and hands me a box. "Have you ever done these before?" she asks me.

"Yeah I have" I tell her as I stand.

"Alright, well this one is a mid-stream test and the toilet is just over here. I'll be here when you're ready" she says as I wander to the door she indicated.

After doing the test I set it down on the sink and wash my hands before looking in the tiny little mirror. The dark circles under my eyes are still very obvious and my hair looks as though it hasn't been brushed in days. I look like a train wreck.

Washing my face quickly I open the door and head back out to where the doc is waiting.

"So was it positive or negative?" she asks me. I look up at her and realise I didn't even check the result. My brain is still very hazy and I'm unsure of anything at the moment.

"Oh, I'll just grab it" I tell her walking back in to the ensuite. Picking up the white stick I look at the little indicator window. Two lines stare back at me.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter twenty-four

Oh yay, just what I need, another shock to my system. How could I be pregnant? I took the morning after pill, we've used protection ever since. This can't be right. I glance at the stick again and sure enough, two lines. God damn it!

I walk back out to the doctor and show her the stick.

"Okay, so that is a positive result. This is unplanned then?" she says. Freaking genius doctor this one.

I shake my head as I sit on the bed again, cradling the test in my hand and staring at it.

The doctor starts asking me questions about my menstrual cycle and I answer every question on auto-pilot. I feel the bed dip beside me and realise she is now sitting next to me. I look over at her and she smiles, very gently.

"We have counsellors here that are available if you need to speak to someone. I'm going to still prescribe the anti-depressants for you because I think at this stage they will be of benefit to you but I'll be giving you another type that is safe for use during pregnancy."

"Okay" I reply. "Please don't mention this to my friends out there" I say to her.

"Elle, you really should have someone you can talk to about this, you can't bear it all on your own at the moment. Certainly not with everything else that's happening in your life at the moment. I'm assuming that the father is the man who recently left?" she says.

"Yeah, he is."

"All I'm saying is don't try to handle this on your own okay? Everyone has a breaking point and you reached yours today. Your body's reaction was to shut down and put you into shock. Confide in someone close to you, promise me that" she says.

I nod slowly before saying a quiet "okay."

"Well, I'm going to keep you in overnight, just to keep an eye on you since you now have another issue to deal with and I don't want your body shutting down on you. I'll send your friends back in for you and I'll be back in an hour or so."

"Thank you" I say as she walks out of the room. I climb back into bed and put the test stick under the sheets beside me so no one can see it. The kids are first in the room and they climb on the bed next to me.

I kiss them both on the top of their head and they hug me tight. "Where's everyone else?" I ask them both.

"The doctor is talking to them" says Max.

I know she won't say anything about the pregnancy but I still try to evaluate their expressions as they file back into the room shortly after.

Sarah is the first to speak. "The doctor said you're staying in overnight. Don't worry about the twins, they can have a sleep over at our place, can't you guys?" she says to them both.

"You're not coming home Mummy?" says Lilly.

"Not yet sweetie, hopefully I will tomorrow though. You can come back in the morning and see me but" I tell her.

She cuddles back into me and burries her face into my side. Everyone sits down and the talk quietly amongst themselves, including me in the conversation where possible but to be honest, I'm not even listening. Instead I'm trying to work out what I'm going to do now. Who do I talk to about this? Alice is one of my closest friends but so is Bradie. If I tell Bradie though, he's likely to call Andy and tell him. Alice wouldn't though, this I know for sure.

With their conversations coming to an end, the nurse sticks her head in the door and announces that visiting hours are over. Everyone says goodbye and the kids kiss me over and over.

When Alice comes to say goodbye I say quietly to her "would you mind staying, just for a minute? I need to speak to you about something."

"Yeah sure" she says as she steps back allowing Bradie to lean over and kiss my cheek.

"I'll see you tomorrow" he says in my ear before giving me a gentle smile and leaving the room behind the others.

Alice sits down on the bed beside me and grabs my hand. "You scared the living shit out of me today. Oh and by the way, nice tattoos" she says with a grin.

I release a smile and look down at where our hands are clasped together.

Looking back up at her face I say the only thing that comes to my mind. "I'm pregnant."

Watching the emotions flick over her face I wait for her response.

"He doesn't know does he?" she finally says.

"No. I only just found out myself."

"Wow."

We sit in silence for a moment as she processes this new information.

"Are you going to tell him?" Alice asks me.

"No, and you have to promise me you won't tell anyone. Not a soul okay?" I say to her.

"I promise I won't. But really Elle, don't you think you should tell him?"

"Not yet, not until all this other mess is sorted out. He is carrying enough guilt at the moment. If he found out we are having a child as well, I don't know what he'd do. I just want to have some time first to adjust to it all. Get my life sorted out."

"Alright, as long as you realise that I'm here for you, no matter what okay? But if I was you, I'd be telling Bradie as well. You know he thinks of you as a sister, you're going to need as much support as you can get at the moment. Just please, trust in him."

"I'm afraid he'll tell Andy" I reply, hanging my head.

"He wouldn't if you asked him not to. Believe me, that man is very loyal to you."

I look back up at her and feel the tears forming in my eyes again. Alice leans over and hugs me to her, rubbing my back as she does. "It will all work out, believe me" she says.

After I let the tears flow for a little bit, I wipe them away as I lean back in the bed. "You'd better get going before the cranky nurse comes and drags you out" I say to her with a smile.

"Are you going to be okay tonight?" she asks me.

"Yeah, I'll switch the TV on and see if I can find something to watch" I say with a smile. Really, I know that I won't be sleeping at all. She seems to believe my reply though as she kisses my cheek and says goodbye.

I turn the TV on and switch on some documentary on SBS. I don't even know what it's about as my thoughts are swirling around everything that's happened. Secretly I want Andy to know about the baby, come back on his knees and beg forgiveness before proposing to me. But I also know that this is the real world. And before I even think of telling him he's going to be a dad, I need to get the rest of my life straightened out.

I'm halfway through making a mental list of things I need to do when the doctor walks in again.

"How are you feeling Elle?" she says to me.

"I'm alright I guess. Just not really able to sleep at the moment."

"I would think not. Unfortunately though, because of your current condition, I can't offer you anything to help with that besides warm milk" she says with a smile. "You haven't eaten this evening either I see. I'll get someone to bring you a meal and get some milk brought in with it."

"Thankyou, that would be great" I reply. "I took your advice too and confided in my friend."

"Good, I'm glad you did. A problem shared is a problem halved you know" she says with a wink whilst writing some information on my chart. "I'm going to get the nurses to bring you some dinner and then I want you to get some rest. "

"Thank you" I say as she leaves.

I flick through the channels some more, finally settling on re-runs of Friends. A nurse brings a tray of food in for me and I pick my way through it. I'm not really hungry but I know I need to eat.

When I'm finished I push the tray to the end of the end of the bed and settle down under the blankets, trying to get comfortable.

I drift off to sleep and have dreams of babies and judges and a jury in a cage.

I discovered that there was an older lady in the bed next to me who is an early riser apparently. She must also be deaf because I could hear the Today show blaring at six o'clock. I roll to my side and cuddle my pillow to my chest. It's a very poor substitute for Andy and I eventually give up. I climb out of bed to use the bathroom and as I do, that little test stick falls to the floor.

I bend over and pick it up, being reminded once again of what a drama my life is at the moment.

I put it on the bed side table and go to the bathroom, taking a towel with me and deciding to have a shower whilst I'm at it.

When I get out I realise that I still don't have any clothes yet so I reluctantly put my hospital gown back on and climb back into bed, trying to run my fingers through my hair but very unsuccessfully.

I hope someone brings me some clothes and a hair brush soon. I look and feel like an escaped mental patient.

I lean back in the bed and as I do a lady pushing a trolley enters the room.

"Breakfast time" she says as she places a tray on the little table and takes another one to the lady next to me.

I uncover the food and find some toast, cereal and some fruit. I'm starving and immediately start eating.

"Would you like some coffee love?" she asks me.

"Yes please, black with two thank you" I say between bites of my toast.

She places my cup on my tray before leaving the room. I eat my breakfast in peace, the lady next to me seeming to choosing to sleep rather than eat.

Just after eight o'clock I'm bored to tears and dying to get home. The doctor on duty comes in and checks me over, giving me the all clear to go home, much to my relief.

Now I just have to wait for someone to come get me. The nurse who checked on me last night comes in and asks if there is someone that she can call for me to come and get me. I give her Bradie's home number and both his and Sarah's names as contacts. She leaves the room, presumably to make the call and I sit back and wait for someone to come and get me.

Twenty minutes later Bradie arrives with Vicki and the kids.

After saying hello to them, giving Vicki a hug as well, she hands me a bag with clothes and toiletries in it. "Oh thank you, you're a life saver!" I say to her.

"I'll just wait out in the hall" Bradie says, leaving the room.

I take the bag and go into the bathroom and get changed. Running a brush through my hair is like torture but I eventually manage to get all the knots out.

When I walk back out I feel much better. I grab my script that the doctor left for me from the side table and also grab the test stick as well, hoping that Vicki or Bradie didn't see it. Putting it in my back pocket I turn and take Max and Lilly's hands as we leave the room.

I stop at the nurse's station to sign the release papers and we head out to the car.

"Are you feeling better today?" Bradie asks me from the front seat as we are heading towards home.

"Yeah I am thanks. Thank you for coming and getting me, I couldn't wait to get out of there."

"You're welcome, do you need anything on the way home?" he asks me.

"I have to get a script filled but I'm going to need my Medicare card and wallet for that" I say.

"I grabbed your bag for you off the kitchen bench so if it's in there we can stop if you want" Vicki says handing me my bag.

I quickly check to make sure it's in there before saying "yeah, that'd be good if we can."

We pull into the chemist that's just down the road from our houses and I hop out of the car. Of course the kids follow me which leads Vicki and Bradie to follow as well. I take my script to the counter and hand over my Medicare card and answer the questions the girl asks me.

We wander around the store whilst we wait and when I hear my name called I go to the counter alone. The chemist takes me aside and goes over the dosage with me, making sure that I understand it all before handing me the box of tablets so I can go and pay for them.

After we leave we duck next door to the little Seven Eleven store and pick up some bits and pieces. Vicki volunteers to make us all lunch and I smile in thanks.

We leave and head home when we have our supplies. Every one climbs out of the car and heads inside. Vicki takes the food she bought to the kitchen and starts making us all kebabs for lunch. I sit at the bench and drink the diet Coke that Bradie got for me. He sits down next to me and we watch Vicki whilst she works.

"I'm sorry I didn't come in last night to see you but I figured that there would be too many people there anyhow" she says to me.

"It's okay, you'll more than make up for it by making lunch" I tell her.

She loads the kebabs into the sandwich press and shuts the lid before leaning against the bench.

"I'm sorry about what happened with Andy" she says, her voice low.

I nod my head, keeping silent so that the tears don't fall again. Bradie grabs my hand and squeezes it gently before holding it in his.

Vicki stands back up and walks to the fridge. "What would the kids like to drink?" she asks me.

"Oh, some milk would be fine for them" I tell her as she grabs the bottle and some cups and pours them.

Bradie stands and takes them from Vicki and places them on the table whilst she takes the kebabs out of the sandwich press and puts them on plates.

"Kids, lunch is ready" I call out to them as they come in from the lounge room.

We all sit at the kitchen table and devour our lunch. When we've finished the kids suggest a game of soccer out the back and they grab the newly purchased soccer ball and run out the back door.

The three of us follow and sit at the table whilst we watch them kick the ball back and forth.

"I really should try and get them a set of those mini soccer goals so they have something to aim for" I say.

"We could go and have a look for some this afternoon if you'd like?" Bradie asks me.

"We'll see how I'm feeling. I'm not sure I want to go out at the moment."

He nods and returns his focus back on the kids.

When I know that the twins are completely engrossed in their game I reach into my back pocket and pull out the pregnancy test and place it in front of me on the table.

Vicki sees it immediately and lets out a gasp which makes Bradie's head swing around.

He looks at it and then looks at me. "You're pregnant?" he asks.

I nod my head slowly before reaching for the stick and putting it back in my pocket.

"I beg you both, do not tell anyone about this yet. Please. Apart from you two, only Alice knows and I'd like to keep it that way for a while."

"What about Andy though?" Vicki says. "Don't you think he has the right to know?"

"Yes he does. But I would like to keep it quiet until the court case mess is behind me. At the moment, that is my first priority" I tell them.

Bradie gives me a huge grin and grabs my hand. "I'm going to be an uncle" he whispers. I can tell he's holding back his excitement so the kids don't hear him but it doesn't stop him from getting up and coming around to my side of the table and hugging me tight.

"I'm here for you, for anything, okay?" he says in my ear and I nod my head in reply. I soon feel Vicki's arms around me as well and we stand there in a group hug until I hear Max start arguing with Lilly. We all release our arms and Bradie goes over and sorts the kids out whilst Vicki and I sit back down.

I feel her staring and I turn to face her.

"Are you happy about the pregnancy?" she asks me, looking very serious.

I look her in the eye and shrug my shoulders. "So many things have happened in the last couple of days, horrible things that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemies. Then this happens, and it's like a ray of sunlight. So yes, I am happy" I tell her.

"So am I" she says with a grin and leans over to hug me.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter twenty-five

Later on Sunday evening Sarah comes over to see how I am feeling. Vicki and Bradie have already explained to her and Tom what had happened with Andy. Bradie informed me earlier this afternoon after my pregnancy was revealed that he wasn't letting me stay on my own at home and that he was moving in and sleeping on my couch until all this mess is sorted out.

I can't help but adore Bradie and his over-protective nature. Between him and Vicki, I have made it through the afternoon and even managed to smile a little as well. Vicki has been great to me and even offered to delay her trip if I wanted her to hang around. Of course, I refused to be the cause of her losing business and insisted that I am going to be just fine.

"So how are you feeling Elle? Is there anything I can do for you?" Sarah asks me.

"No thanks Sarah, I'll be fine I'm sure. The only thing I ask of you though is if you hear from Andy; please don't tell him about my hospital visit. I don't want him to know about it please."

"I will try not to mention it but if he asks me how you are, I'm not going to lie and tell him you're fine. Just like if you ask me how he is, I'm not going to lie to you either" she says. Something about the way she says it though makes me think she's spoken to him already.

"You've spoken to him already haven't you? How is he?" I ask her, my chest constricting at the mere thought of Andy calling.

"He's not doing too well at all really. I begged him to come home and sort this mess out but he's pretty adamant that what he's doing is the right thing, no matter how much it's hurting you or him."

I hang my head and feel my eyes well up again. When I look up at Sarah the tears are free-falling down my cheeks. "Why won't he come back to me?" I ask her, my voice wavering as I speak.

"Oh honey, he will, I'm sure he will. He's just so confused right now and I think he's feeling so ashamed of his past behaviour you know? It's all catching up to him and it's now affecting you and the kids" Sarah says as she hugs me to her chest.

I'm punishing myself by asking this but I have to. "Did he ask about me at all?"

"He didn't need to honey, as soon as he answered the phone I started in on him about how hurt you are. I'm pretty sure I upset him even more actually but he needed to know that what he's doing isn't the right thing. It's breaking you both and very soon it's going to start affecting those beautiful children of yours too to see their Mum so broken."

I slow my breathing down and try to stem the flow of tears.

"If it makes you feel any better, I didn't tell him that you were in hospital only that you weren't coping at all" she says.

I nod my head before asking "when did you call him?"

"This afternoon, I've been trying since Friday night but he just wouldn't answer. He wouldn't tell me where he was but said he was staying with a friend for a little while."

Bradie enters the lounge room where Sarah and I are sitting and sits on the arm of the couch and puts one of his big hands on my shoulder and rubs it gently.

"Are you okay?" he says to me to which I nod.

"We've made dinner. Vicki and the kids are just cleaning up the kitchen now. How about you come and eat something?" he asks me.

Looking up at him I give him a small smile and say "I'm not really that hungry."

"Elle, you need to eat" he says, giving me a hard look. "You must take care of yourself now."

Realising that he's referring to the new life inside of me I submit and nod my head. "Yeah of course, I'll be there in a minute" I tell him as I stand. "I'm just going to go and wash my face."

As I leave I hear Bradie ask Sarah if she's heard from Andy. I don't want to hear Sarah re-tell it so I head straight to my ensuite and wash my face with cold water. Looking in the mirror I stare at the bags under my eyes, the red rims and the purple marks on my face. Biting my lip I wonder how the hell I'm going to get through any of this without him. I still can't bear to look in my wardrobe and have taken to closing my eyes as I walk through it.

When I return to the lounge room, Sarah and Bradie are still there, talking low between them. There is a scowl on Bradie's face and I'm assuming they're still discussing Andy. As they see me approach they abruptly end their conversation and Sarah turns to me and tells me she's heading home.

"If you need anything at all, please don't hesitate to ask Elle. Tom and I are right next door whenever you need us okay?" she says.

"Thanks Sarah, I will" I say as she hugs me and heads out the front door.

Bradie slings an arm around my shoulders and leads me to the dining table. "Come on, got to keep your strength up now" he says to me as he kisses my temple.

I sit down with the kids, Bradie and Vicki opposite me as Vicki puts a chicken and rice dish on the table. We eat in relative silence and I'm quietly contemplating how I'm going to tell Sandra about the latest saga in my life when my phone starts ringing on the bench.

Bradie stands and grabs it for me and looks at the display. A frown forms on his face and he answers it as he strides out of the room. I'm left a little dumb-founded at the kitchen table wondering why he answered my phone for me when I realise who it would be calling.

I quickly push my chair back from the table as I stand the noise echoing as it hits the floor. I run out the front door trying to find Bradie and retrieve my phone. When I locate him near the road he is talking quietly but I can hear the anger in his voice.

"Bradie" I call out to him as I run towards him. I see the shock on his face as he turns and looks at me.

"Give me my fucking phone right now" I say to him, the anger in me so strong that I'm surprised I'm swearing at him.

He grimaces as he quickly says something quietly into the mouthpiece before holding my phone out to me. I snatch it out of his hands and look at the display to make sure it really is him.

Turning my back to him and holding the phone to my ear, I'm suddenly overwhelmed and have no idea what to say. I can hear him breathing in my ear and just that simple sound makes me break down and sob. The sound of him inhaling deeply before releasing a breath fills my head before I hear his voice.

"Elle, I'm so sorry."

I fall to my knees on the grass and hold the phone tight to my head. I manage to whisper "come back" before the line goes dead and I'm lost to my emotions again. I'm sobbing and crying unaware of Bradie's arms around me at first and when I realise he is nursing me on the ground I cry openly into his shoulder.

His hand is rubbing my back and after a while I manage to calm myself down enough to apologise to him for being so rude.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. I shouldn't have taken your phone like that; I don't know what came over me. I saw his name and I just got so God damn angry at the thought of what he's done that I couldn't help it. I didn't want him saying anything to you to upset you anymore than he already has. I'm so so sorry Elle. Please forgive me" he says into my ear as he kisses my head and holds me tight.

I squeeze him back and say "of course I forgive you" before releasing him a bit and pulling back to see his face.

He brushes the hair from my eyes and wipes my tears away. "Come on, we'd better get you up off this damp ground before you catch phenomena."

We both stand and walk back towards the house. "What did he say?" I ask him, punishing myself again.

"Not much really. I spent most of the time yelling at him for being such a shit. He wouldn't tell me where he was, but he did say he was sorry and that he'd see me this week at practice so I'm guessing he's not too far away."

I nod my head as we reach the front door and he holds it open for me. "Let's go finish our dinner" he says as he leads me into the house. I quickly wipe away the remaining tears as we approach the table.

Both Lilly and Max look worried as sin and Vicki isn't too much better. "Everything okay?" she asks as we sit at the table with them. I nod my head in reply without looking at anyone in particular and place my focus on the plate in front of me.

"Yeah, it's okay" Bradie says before doing the same as me.

"Mum, are you alright?" Lilly asks me.

I look up at her and say "I'll be okay" to her and give her a small smile.

"Was that Andy on the phone?" she asks me and I nearly drop my fork. Not trusting my voice I simply nod instead.

"When is he coming home?" she says.

"We're not sure yet honey" Bradie says to her. "He has some things to do so it might not be for a while yet."

"Alright" she replies, seemingly satisfied with his answer. Max on the other hand looks like he's ready to hit something.

"He's not coming back is he?" Max says. The silence at the table is deafening and I'm not sure what to do.

"We don't know yet mate" Bradie replies for me. "We certainly hope he will, but we just don't know" he says.

My appetite is gone and I let my fork fall to the plate. "Would you guys please excuse me, I'm going to go and have a shower" I say as I stand and grab my plate, placing it on the bench as I walk past.

"Are you okay?" Vicki calls out to me on my way to my bedroom. I nod my head in response, not trusting my words as I close the bedroom door behind me and allow the despair to once again surface.

Undressing quickly I make my way to the shower, again refusing to look at the void in my wardrobe where Andy's clothes once hung. I turn the hot water on and let it run for a minute before climbing in to the scalding water and letting it wash over me. I shampoo my hair and scrub my body, trying to make myself feel better but only succeeding a little bit.

When I step out and wrap myself in my towel I find my pyjamas and get changed before coming back out to the kitchen. Everyone has finished dinner and is cleaning up the kitchen. Lilly hugs me and says she's going to have a bath, with Max following her as she wanders to the bathroom.

I lean against the kitchen bench and thank both Vicki and Bradie for dinner.

Bradie hangs up the tea towel and says "you're welcome. Are you feeling any better now?"

"Yeah, I am, thankyou" I reply.

"I'm going to get going home. I have to sort through some things and start getting packed again" Vicki says as she empties the water from the sink. She turns and hugs me tight before kissing my head and whispering "it will be alright" in my ear.

I smile at her as she pulls away and she says a quick goodnight to Bradie before leaving.

"Come on, lets go find something to watch" Bradie says as we wander into the lounge room.

When the kids are both in the pyjamas they come out and sit with us whilst we watch Futurama. At eight o'clock I announce it's their bed time and with a bit of groaning I manage to get them both to bed.

Bradie and I settle on the couch and watch the very first Star Wars movie together. About three quarters of the way through it I can hear him softly snoring and I decide to leave him in peace so he can stretch out and get some sleep.

I retrieve the blanket from the back of the couch and place it over him before turning off the TV, grabbing my laptop and phone before moving into my bedroom.

I hadn't really been watching the movie all that time but instead had been making a mental list of everything I need to do.

First thing is to get this court case out of the way. Ignoring the instructions of Matthew and everyone else I settle myself on my bed and start composing a letter on my laptop to Jim and Carol. I figure that if I can get them to realise what they are doing to the children by launching this action then they may reconsider it.

I also need to know why they are suddenly doing this and what alerted them to Andy's past indiscretions. Both Jim and Carol are in their early sixties so it's not as though they are in touch with the latest bands, least of all Short stack and their members. When I remember back to the funeral they seemed to be quite impressed by Andy and were talking very politely with him for a while there. It seems so out of character for either of them to be so vindictive that I'm very suspicious that they have been told things that aren't true. But again, it comes back to who would do such a thing?

When I have finished writing the letter I check it over three times, making sure everything sounds right before I hit that send button.

I have a moment of short-lived regret at doing so, but it passes quickly and I feel a little bit of a weight lift from my shoulders.

I debate on whether or not to check Twitter but curiosity gets the better of me. To my relief I see that Andy hasn't tweeted for about a week and I'm quietly pleased that he's keeping away from the social media.

Where ever he is, he's hiding himself from me and the only contact I have is his phone or email. I don't trust myself with the email address so I grab my phone instead and dial his number. It goes straight to his voice mail which indicates he has it switched off.

"Hey, this is Andy, I can't take your call at the moment so leave me a message and I'll get back to you."

I take a deep breath before saying quietly "I miss you. I know you think it's your fault and that by leaving it's going to make things better, but it's not. I need to speak to you. I need to see you. There are so many things I need to say to you and that you need to know. But most of all, I just need you. Come home soon please. I love you" I say before pushing the end button.

I breathe slowly and deeply thinking about how much I miss Andy and his presence. I close my laptop and put it back in its bag before sliding it under my bed. I grab the remote from the bedside table as I put my phone there and switch on the TV.

There is nothing really amusing on and I try to concentrate on a movie that is on the ABC but staring at the screen I realise I have no idea what it's about.

I snuggle down into the doona and hope like hell that I can get a bit of sleep tonight. My dreams are swirls of colour and emotions but are about nothing in particular. When I wake at just after five am I'm tired but unable to sleep anymore. I sit up in bed and find the remote hidden under the doona next to me. I flick the TV on and watch the morning news for a bit.

The buzz of my phone on the bedside table startles me and I grab it quickly, looking to see that I have a new message.

"_Please understand, we can no longer see each other. It's best to end it now. Don't call me again, please."_

My heart shatters and I feel the glimmer of hope I had speed away from me like a shooting star. It's over. My chest hurts and I let out a small agonising scream.

My bedroom door busts open and Bradie runs in. "What's wrong? Are you alright?" he says worriedly. I curl into a ball on the bed and hand him my phone.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter twenty-six

On Monday morning I'm assuming Bradie took care of everything, the breakfasts, the school lunches, the kids on the bus, and notifying work for me. I lay in bed, curled up in the foetal position until he comes in and lifts me up and takes me to the couch.

"You have to eat Elle. Remember you need to keep your strength up. You can't give up now" he tells me but it's just words.

Words that mean nothing to me. Andy's not coming back. What's the point to any of this? Why did I bother buying the house, setting up our future together if he's just going to throw it away?

I have no strength and I'm not talking to anyone. My mp3 player is my best friend suddenly and I listen until it runs flat. I can't bear to hear the sympathies and the pity that everyone will give. Sarah arrives with Vicki at some point and they hug me and try to get me to eat but I don't want to comply.

By late afternoon the kids are home and I'm hiding in the bedroom again. Vicki is looking after them and Bradie is sitting with me watching TV on my bed. I'm not even sure of what he's watching but when my phone buzzes beside me he reaches over and grabs it. I don't even flinch. There's no one I want to talk to at the moment and I really couldn't give two shits if Bradie fields my calls for me.

He glances at me and stands and walks out of the room before answering the phone. I'm lost in my own little world again until he returns. I have no idea how long he's been gone but in that time I've managed to scratch a hole into the back of my hand.

Bradie immediately sees it and grabs a tissue from the bedside table to stem the bleeding.

"What are you doing to yourself?" he says in a whisper. I look to his face and I can see the pain I'm causing him reflected back in his eyes.

"I'm sorry" I whisper to him.

"Oh Elle, its okay" he says before wrapping me in his arms again and holding me tight. I'm numb and have no emotions left. I simply become like a limp rag-doll and lay there in his arms until he releases me.

"That was your lawyer on the phone. He said that he has some news for you but wouldn't relay it to me. I told him you weren't very well at the moment and he said he'd email you instead. Is that okay?" Bradie asks me.

I nod slowly and lean my head back against the pillow. Bradie is staring at me and then releases a loud sigh.

"Sweetie, you need to eat. You have to look after yourself, even if it's just for the sake of the twins" he says very gently to me.

I keep my focus on the mark that is now embedded in the back of my hand. I hear his words and they seem to seep into the fog in my brain. He's right of course. I should be thinking about Max and Lilly at the moment, not about myself and my broken heart.

I raise my eyes to look at Bradie and realise what a rock he's been. If he wasn't here, I would have given up completely. Then the twins would have no one.

"Thank you" I softly say to him, "for everything. I don't know what I would have done if you weren't here for me."

"Elle, I would do anything for you. All I want is for you to be happy and healthy again" he says placing his hand to my face and lifting it to look at him squarely.

The look he is giving me is one of concern but I can see the tenderness in his eyes. For just the smallest moment I wonder what it would be like to kiss him. What would my life have been like if it had been Bradie who had asked me out first instead of Andy? Would it have been better or worse? There would probably be no court case, no drama, just everything picture perfect. But do I love Bradie? Does my heart skip a beat every time I see him?

I place my hand on his and smile gently. I do love Bradie, just not with the passion and intensity I feel for Andy. It's a different kind of love.

"It's so nice to see you smile" he whispers to me, letting a smile of his own appear.

He rubs his thumb on my cheek before leaning forward and kissing my forehead gently.

There's a knock on the door followed by Vicki's voice saying "Can I come in?"

Bradie pulls back and stands and opens the door for Vicki. She glances at him before looking over at me.

"Hey Elle, how are you feeling?" she asks me.

I manage a smile for her and reply "a little better I think."

"That's great. How about you have a shower and get cleaned up for dinner?" she says to me before turning and facing Bradie. "Can I speak to you for a minute?"

"Yeah sure" he says before looking over and smiling at me.

I start to climb out of bed as Bradie shuts the door behind him and Vicki as they leave the room.

I do the blind walk through the wardrobe and into the bathroom and turn on the shower. Stepping into the warm water I start to have a mental conversation, ending with me telling myself to pull my head in and harden up.

By the time I'm out and dressed in some clean clothes I'm feeling a bit better. I need to push this whole heartbreak mess to the back of my head and focus on my family.

I walk over to the bed and make it quickly, deciding to change the sheets tomorrow morning. I tidy up the bedside table, grabbing an empty glass and plate and make my way out to the kitchen.

Vicki and Bradie are dishing up dinner and the kids are at the table waiting. I smile at them both before going into the kitchen to offer some help.

"Its fine Elle, we've got it" says Bradie.

"Alright then, I'll go and sit with the kids" I say as I walk over and take a seat at the table.

"How was school?" I ask them, the first words I've spoken to them since last night.

"It was fine" says Max, keeping his head low. I look to Lilly and she simply shrugs.

"What's wrong honey?" I ask her but she just mumbles 'nothing' and keeps her face turned from mine.

"Hey, everything will be okay" I say to her, reaching for her hand but she pulls it away and puts it in her lap.

Bradie and Vicki come to the table; their hands loaded with plates as they put them down and have a seat.

I'm a little hurt by Lilly's response to me but I really should expect it. I've ignored them both for the last twenty-four hours, caught up in my own little dramas and haven't even thought to say hello to them.

We eat dinner quietly and when we've finished Max stands and declares he's going for a bath. Lilly follows him down the hallway to her bedroom and closes the door.

I'm left sitting at the table by myself as Vicki and Bradie clear the dishes. I stand and walk into the kitchen, taking a seat at the bench on one of the bar stools.

"I've been a horrible Mum haven't I?" I say to no one in particular.

"Not at all" Vicki replies. "They're just both upset that he's left. It's not your fault."

"Yeah, you have your own stuff to deal with as well Elle. If you don't sort yourself out first you'll be of no use to the kids in the long run. They'll be fine" Bradie says.

"I did need to talk to you though about a note that came home from school today" Vicki says. "I think Max was too afraid to show you or Bradie though."

"What happened?" I ask holding my hand out for the piece of paper Vicki is handing me.

"Seems he got a detention for fighting" she says as I scan the letter from the school. The last time this happened was when someone insulted Andy. I wonder what set him off this time. It's time to pull it together so I can talk to him about it.

"Can you hand me that pen please?" I ask and Bradie passes it to me. I sign the bottom of the note to verify that I've read it before putting it back on the bench.

"Okay, I'll have a talk to him in a minute. Has Lilly spoken to either of you?" I ask them.

They both shake their heads no.

She's retreating into her shell again. I need to stop her now before it gets too far again and she flat out refuses to speak at all.

"I'm going to go and have a word with them both" I say as I stand up.

"Are you alright by yourself or do you want me to come with you for support?" Bradie asks me.

"I think I'll be okay but thanks Bradie" I say as I wander towards Lilly's room. I knock on her door and slowly open it. I put my head in and she is sitting on the bed, her legs crossed, book in hand.

"Can I come in?" I ask her. She nods in response and I come in and close the door behind me.

I sit down on the bed but she continues to look at her book.

"Honey, can you put the book down for a minute please? I need to talk to you."

She puts a bookmark in it and closes it, her head still hanging.

"I know I haven't been around much the last couple of days and I'm really very sorry for that. I've been really sick and I didn't want to let you see me like that."

She glances up at my face and back to her lap again.

"Honey, I'm really upset that Andy has gone, and I can see that you and Max are too. He didn't mean to hurt us all like this, please understand that. It's just that he thinks that we should have someone else to be a part of our family and not him."

The look on Lilly's face can only be described as confused. "But that's dumb."

"I know honey, I don't understand why he'd think that either" I tell her.

"I miss him Mum" she says looking up at me.

"I miss him too honey" I reply as Lilly crawls onto my lap and hugs me tight.

"I didn't want him to leave either and I promise you, I'm going to do my best to make him see that."

I hear the bathroom door open and realise that Max is out of the bath. "How about you grab your pyjamas and go and have a bath. I need to talk to Max about this fight he had."

"Okay Mum" she says before climbing off my lap and grabbing her pyjamas from her drawer.

I follow her out of the room and I head into Max's room, knocking on the open door as I enter.

"Hey, can I talk to you please?" I say as I sit on his bed. He's sitting on the floor playing with his cars.

"Do you want to tell me about this fight you had at school please?" I ask him.

He sort of shrugs and mumbles something unintelligible.

"Max, look at me please" I say to him.

He lifts his head and glares at me.

"What happened please?" I ask again.

"Some kid was pushing me around so I pushed him back. He fell over and told on me."

"And that's all that happened?" I ask him.

"Yes" he replies before focusing on his cars again.

"Are you angry at me?" I ask, fearful of his answer.

Looking back at me he says "No mum. I'm angry at Andy. Why did he leave?"

"Listen mate, I can't really tell you why, but please don't be angry with him. He thinks he's doing the best thing for us."

"Well he's not. He hurt Lilly's feelings, he's made me mad and he's made you sad" he says, looking a lot like his father when he used to feel victimised.

"I know. It's not exactly fair that we don't have a say in it but there's not a lot I can do about this at the moment. But I promise you Max, he didn't do it to hurt us."

He just nods and I stand up, rubbing the top of his head as I do.

"Trust me okay, he didn't mean it" I say as he looks up at me again.

"Okay" he replies.

I leave his room, and head back out to the Vicki and Bradie. They're sitting in the lounge room watching TV and I take a seat on the arm of the couch.

"Everything okay?" Bradie asks me.

"Yeah, I think so" I tell him.

"Thanks for your hand today guys. I really appreciate it" I say.

"Anytime Elle" Vicki says.

"How's the packing going?" I ask her.

"Just about finished. Actually I might head home and finalise everything tonight so I have tomorrow free."

"What time do you leave on Wednesday?" I ask her.

"I think the flight is at three in the morning or something stupid like that. Do you guys want to go out to lunch tomorrow?" she asks us.

"Yeah sure, that sounds fine. I'd better check in at work tomorrow anyhow" I say.

Bradie turns to me and says "Sandra said to take the week off; she's going to cover it all for you apparently."

"Oh okay then."

"Are you still going to go to Brooke's party Saturday night?" Vicki asks me.

"I don't know yet. I guess I'll see how I'm feeling."

"I'll take you if you want to go" Bradie says with a smile.

"Thankyou. So have either of you heard from him?" I ask.

"Nothing at all. I've left him countless messages but he still won't ring me. If I haven't heard from him before I leave the country I'm going be so pissed at him" Vicki says.

This brings a smile to my face. I'd hate to be on Vicki's wrong side, that's for sure.

"I've got practice on Wednesday with him but no, I haven't heard a word from him either" Bradie says.

I nod to myself as Vicki stands up. "I'm going to get going. I'll see you guys tomorrow around eleven, does that suit you?"

"That's fine with me" Bradie says and I nod in agreement.

"I'll see myself out" Vicki says as she heads for the front door.

"Good night" I say as she leaves.

I slide down on to the couch next to Bradie and we watch a bit of TV for a while. The kids come and join us and when it's bed time they go without argument.

When I return to the couch Bradie throws an arm around my shoulder and I cuddle into his side. We watch in silence and when he starts to yawn I stand and say goodnight to him. He stands as well and hugs me tight.

"Get some sleep tonight okay? I'm right here if you need me" he tells me before kissing the top of my head.

"Alright, goodnight" I say as I let him go and wander into my bedroom to get ready for bed. I brush my teeth, slip my pyjamas on and then climb under the doona. The bed is cold and empty and feels so wrong. I switch the TV but find nothing to amuse me. I grab my laptop out from under the bed instead and decide to check my emails.

Logging in I see that I have an email from Mathew and I open it to see what he has to say. After scanning it briefly I see that the date for the hearing has been set for two months time. He has also been informed by Jim and Carol's lawyer that I contacted them. He's not too impressed to say the least. Apparently the email I sent them has been kept confidential but he wants to know what was in it.

I file that email away in my 'bits' folder in my program and scan the rest of the mails. There's nothing overly interesting, nothing from Andy, not that I thought there would be. My chest aches a little from the heartache and I decide to re-read the email I sent to Jim and Carol last night again.

_Dear Jim and Carol,_

_Firstly I'd like to thank you for opening this email and reading it. I'm aware that your lawyer would have told you to have no contact with me so I appreciate your time._

_I'm writing to you to plead that you do not go through with this custody challenge, please. I know you are not vindictive or spiteful people and have always trusted my judgement where my children are concerned. I appreciate that you have stayed supportive of me even after Dean and I separated._

_I know you have met Andy and at the time, I was under the impression that you approved of him. He was a rock to me through Dean's sickness and was there to help the kids and me through the mourning of their father. _

_Please understand, Andy is a wonderful and loyal man, who has without a doubt had some troubled times in his past. But the only reason that any of his indiscretions are a concern is that he has lived these last few years in the public eye. Since we met however, he has received little to no publicity as you may have noticed when researching your claims of morality and anger issues._

_He loves Max and Lilly with all his heart and treats them as though they are the most precious children on the planet. His love for me is more than I could ever deserve and want. I don't understand why you would want to remove the twins from the loving home they now have. _

_I have the feeling that you may have been misled or perhaps even been directed to some past poor publicity. For the kids sake, as well as my own, please do not do this. Their lives have been marred with enough upheaval and tragedy for any adult to undertake, let alone a pair of seven year olds._

_I won't be releasing the children to your care voluntarily and surely you realise that your chances of gaining custody are very slim. The only thing you will be gaining by continuing with this course of action is the satisfaction that you have made Max and Lilly's lives even more complicated. Andy and I can handle the pressure and stress from this, but they can't._

_Please, I beg of you, don't do this to Max and Lilly. If you wish to see the twins, just ask. There is no reason to do this to them._

_Elle. _


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter twenty-seven

Tuesday morning sees a better start to the day for me. I feel renewed and keen to set things right. I'm up at six-thirty, showered, dressed and in the kitchen making breakfast by the time Bradie wakes on the couch. The kids climbing on him may have helped rouse him from his sleep.

When he walks in to the kitchen I hand him a cup of tea and smile.

"Morning" I say to him.

"Morning, you're up early" he says taking a sip of the hot beverage.

"Yeah, kind of wanted to get a decent start to the day for a change" I reply.

"Well you certainly look better this morning" he says, taking a seat at the kitchen bench.

"Thanks. I just figured nothing is going to change if I don't start trying to change it myself."

"I was thinking that maybe I should talk to Andy tomorrow at practice. Maybe try to get him to see a bit of sense?" Bradie says.

"As nice as that would be at the moment, it's probably not the best idea. He said it himself that it's over. But I do appreciate it Bradie, please don't think I don't."

"Okay, but if he asks me how you are, I'm not going to make out that your fine. He needs to know what he's doing to you all."

I nod in silence, having already assumed that he would have a go at him anyway. "You're not going to mention" I pause for a moment. "You know, the baby are you?"

"Of course not Elle. That's up to you when you tell him. But just a little bit of advice. Probably best if you don't wait too long. If there's one thing I have learned from the past it's don't wait until the last minute when it comes to Andy."

"Thanks for the advice" I say to him and he smiles in reply.

I put the French toast I've made onto plates and put it on the table, calling out to the twins as I go.

We all sit and have breakfast and afterwards I send the kids to get dressed for school.

I clean up whilst Bradie has a shower and gets dressed.

"I'm running out of clean clothes" he says as he comes back out. "How about you come home with me after we walk the kids to the bus stop so I can do some laundry and get some things organised for tomorrow?"

"Yeah okay, we have some time to kill before we go out with Vicki anyhow. It will be nice to catch up with Sarah too" I say before hanging the tea towel up and calling out to the kids.

When we are on our way back from the bus stop Bradie and I talk about Brooke's birthday party and I ask him if he's come up with a costume yet.

He has a bit of a chuckle and says "I thought about going as a priest but I don't really know for sure. I'm going to go and look at what's available on Thursday."

"That would be funny" I reply. An idea suddenly striking me I say to him "if I go with you, I'll dress as a nun. What do you think?"

He starts laughing at me as we walk up the driveway to his home, grabbing the bag of dirty clothes he left at the bottom of my driveway before.

"Now that would be pretty funny" he says.

As our laughter dies down and we approach the front door I ask him quietly "do you think Andy will be going?"

He glances at me before opening the door for me. "I have no idea but I'll find out tomorrow for you okay? I take it if he's going then you probably won't?"

"Yeah, I don't think it would be a good idea if we were both there. Things would get awkward real fast."

I follow him inside and down the hall to the kitchen.

"Mum, I'm home" he sings out and we hear a reply from down towards Chris' room.

"I'll be back in a minute okay" Bradie says to me as he heads down the hallway to the laundry.

I pull out a stool at the bench and take a seat. I quietly drum my fingernails on the bench top whilst I wait and stare around the kitchen.

There's a pile of unopened mail on the end of the bench and as I hear Sarah come down the hallway I notice that Andy's name is on the top envelope.

"Hey Elle, how are you?"

"I'm okay thanks Sarah. Hi Chris" I say to the little guy on Sarah's hip. He gives me a shy smile before Sarah puts him down on the ground. He runs into the playroom and disappears.

"You look much better today" Sarah says to me.

I return her smile and say "thanks, I'm feeling a bit better too."

"So what are your plans today?"

"Bradie and I are going out to lunch with Vicki. I think he's just picking up some more clothes and doing some washing" I reply.

"Yeah, I saw him in the laundry sorting his stuff out. He's so pedantic about separating the colours" she says.

I giggle at that comment, thinking how true it probably is.

I look over at Sarah and she's smiling back at me. "It's nice to see you smiling. I spoke to Andy this morning too. He sounds miserable at best but he still won't listen to me. He won't even tell me where he's staying. I think he's afraid I'm going to come and find him and drag his skinny little ass back home again" she says.

I take a breath and look away before looking back at her again. "It's okay Sarah. When he's ready he'll talk to me about this I'm sure, but in the mean time I guess we'll all just have to wait."

She grabs my hand and squeezes it as I look at her face. "He's worth waiting for" I tell her with a small smile.

"You are such a strong woman" Sarah says as Bradie comes in behind me.

He puts an arm around my shoulder and says "what's going on?"

"Nothing darling, I was just telling Elle how much I admire her strength."

"Morning everyone" Vicki says as she walks into the kitchen as well. "You two are a bit early aren't you?" she says, unaware of the moment that just passed.

"I just had to get some washing done and grab some new clothes as well" Bradie replies.

"Oh okay. I was going to suggest that we go down to Tuggerah for lunch and maybe go to the movies or shopping afterwards if you guys wanted to" Vicki says.

"Or we can go to Westfield and just wander around all day?" Bradie says.

"That sounds good to me" I say and Vicki nods in agreement.

"I'll just wait for this load of washing to finish and then we'll go" Bradie says.

"Leave that, I'll do it" Sarah tells him.

"Thanks Mum" Bradie says with a grin. "Don't mix my colours up though okay?" he says.

"I won't, now get out of here please" Sarah says with a smile.

"I'm going to go home and get changed" I say as Bradie heads down the hall and Vicki pours her coffee. "I'll be back in half an hour okay?"

"No worries" Vicki says as I wave and head out the door.

I go back home and hang out the washing I had done earlier on and then get changed. Looking in the mirror I see bags and red eyes reflected back at me. I grab my make-up bag and try to do the best I can with my features. When I'm done I look almost normal and I pack up my mess.

I grab my phone, checking for any new messages, and then my bag before heading next door again.

Bradie and Vicki are on the front step waiting for me and they both stand as I approach.

"Ready to go?" Bradie asks me.

"Yep, lets get out of here" I reply and we all climb in his car.

We chat amongst ourselves on the twenty minute drive to Westfield Shopping and Vicki tells me all about the planned trip she's taking tomorrow. When we reach the centre we park the car and climb out.

Spending the morning shopping and chatting with these two has really taken my mind away from my problems. We purchase silly little gifts for each other to remember the day with and then find a nice bistro to have lunch at. Sitting at an outdoors table we eat and even have a few laughs.

Afterwards we stroll around again, taking in all the sights and sounds and watch the varieties of people from all walks of life. At quarter to three we make our way back to the car to make sure we get home in time for the kids.

On the drive home Vicki's phone rings, glancing at the display she quietly answers it putting her hand to her spare ear to block out Bradie's and my off-key singing.

A couple of minutes later she ends the call, glances at Bradie and turns in her seat to face me. "That was Andy wishing me luck for my assignment. He said he'll catch up with me next time I'm in town."

"Oh, okay" I reply, unsure of what else I can say to that.

"He also asked me how you were doing."

"What did you tell him?" I ask her.

"I said you were just barely coping and that he is the biggest cockhead on the planet for thinking that what he's doing is the right thing."

"I bet that went down well with him" I say.

"He knows I tell it like it is. If he doesn't like it then that's his problem, not mine. But I'm telling you now, if he hasn't sorted this shit out by the time I'm back, I'm going to smack him across the head so hard."

"Thanks Vicki" I say with a small smile.

"Hey, what are friends for?" she replies.

The conversation lulls and we ride the rest of the way home in silence. My thoughts are swirling around the fact that Andy asked about me. He still cares, even if he thinks we can't be together.

When we pull up at the house Vicki takes her bags next door and tells us she'll be back later on to say goodbye to us all. Bradie and I carry our bags in the house before walking slowly to the bus stop.

The kids arrive and we hug them hello. I wave to Denise the bus driver as she pulls away and we walk back home again. The kids tell us all about their day and Max cons Bradie into playing a bit of soccer in the backyard when we get home.

Lilly helps me with dinner and when Vicki knocks just after five o'clock the kids are inside watching cartoons and Bradie and I are sitting at the kitchen bench talking quietly.

"I've come to say goodbye. There are a few other people I have to go and see and I don't know how late I'll be getting back so I wanted to say goodbye to the kids first" Vicki tells us.

We all wander into the lounge and the kids hug Vicki goodbye. She gives them both a little gift bag and tells them not to open it until she has gone which they both promise to do.

We walk out the front door and she gives Bradie a hug and says goodbye to him, albeit awkwardly. Turning to me she holds her arms out and cuddles me tight.

"Let me know how you are okay? I want to know what's happening with that little mini-Andy growing inside of you" she says quietly in my ear.

"I will" I reply giving her a squeeze before letting go.

"And if you work out who the hell was tipping off the newspaper and causing all this mayhem, tell me and I'll take care of them for you" she says.

I grin at her and say "not before I get to them first."

"See you guys" she says as she walks next door.

Bradie and I go back to the kitchen and he sits as I prepare dinner for us all.

It's a quiet evening in the house but it feels a lot more comforting that what it has done these last few nights. Tomorrow however is another day.

I'm woken by the alarm and crawl out of bed. Sleep was eluding me last night and I feel terrible this morning. I make my way out to the kitchen after showering and cleaning myself up.

Bradie is snoring softly on the lounge and I smile at him as I walk by.

I switch the kettle on and lean against the bench waiting of it to boil. The sound of Bradie's phone ringing from behind me startles me a bit and I turn and look at it. The caller id says Andy and I'm unsure of whether to answer it or not. Bradie hasn't moved from the couch and I cradle the phone to my ear as I push the green button.

"Hello" I say very softly.

I hear nothing and pull the phone away to check if the call is still connected. It is so I listen again.

"Elle, Is Bradie there?" I hear Andy's voice and my heart skips about five beats. When I recover I find my voice and reply quietly "he's still sleeping."

I hear his breath inhale quickly and I realise that what I said could be misconstrued. "I mean, he's still on the couch snoring" I add quickly.

There's a pause I can hear Andy's breaths. "Ask him to call me when he gets up please?" he says.

"I will" I reply, unsure of if I'm allowed to say anymore.

"Are you alright?" Andy says to me, the concern radiating in his voice.

"I'm doing okay, I guess. How are you?" I reply, surprised at the civility of this conversation.

"Don't worry about me, I'll survive" he says.

There is a pause as I wonder if I'm allowed to speak some more when he says "I've got to go. Take care of yourself Elle."

"Andy, wait" I sputter out but it's too late. The line is dead and he's gone.

I put the phone back on the bench and lean heavily against the edge. Hanging my head I take deep breaths to steady myself and when I lift my head I hear movement from behind me.

"Are you okay Elle?" Bradie asks, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he enters the kitchen.

"Yeah" I reply. "Andy just called your phone. He'd like you to ring him please."

"Did he upset you? What did he say?" Bradie asks me, immediately jumping to my defence.

"Nothing, he was fine. I just miss him, that's all" I say, sounding a lot calmer that what I feel.

Bradie wraps his arms around me and hugs me tight. When he releases me he grabs his phone and walks out the back door, presumably to call Andy.

When he comes back in he says "he only wanted to make sure that you weren't going to come to practice."

I nod my head, thinking that I understand where he's coming from.

The kids get up soon after and the morning routine sets in.

By the time the kids are on the bus and Bradie has his kit packed in his car, I'm ready to go into work to see Sandra. I'm going to end up tearing my hair out if I have nothing to do all day and it's the only thing I can think of.

After promising Bradie I'd call him if I needed him, I drive to work and greet Sandra as I walk in the door. She immediately drops her pen and gives me a tight hug.

"Bradie told me what has happened. I'm so sorry honey, how are you holding up?" she says.

"I'm okay; just need something to keep me occupied at the moment though. Any chance I can work from the back office today?" I ask her.

"Yeah sure thing, I'll move my stuff out of the way so you can set up you things" she says as we both walk out the back.

Sandra spends the whole day ensuring that I'm never left with nothing to do and by the time three o'clock comes around I'm mentally exhausted from the work I've been doing.

I tell her I'll be in on Friday as I leave and make the drive home again. Getting the kids from the bus stop I decide to take them next door to see Sarah and spend the afternoon playing with Chris.

When my phone rings just before five I answer it to hear Bradie's voice. He only speaks briefly, saying that he won't be home until late and not to wait up for him. I tell him where the spare key is and hang up the phone, relaying the conversation to Sarah.

She invites us to stay for dinner, now that Bradie won't be back and I readily accept. I'm feeling tired from working so hard to keep busy today and when eight o'clock comes around I have no hesitation in saying goodnight to her and Tom and Chris and taking the twins home to bathe and sleep.

At nine o'clock I'm curled up in bed under the doona, once again wishing that my spare pillow had a heartbeat and a Maurice tattoo.

Sleep eventually finds me and I wake ever so briefly at eleven when Bradie gets home. I feel his lips press to my forehead before I roll over and go back to sleep.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter twenty-eight

I awake to the alarm on Thursday morning and sit up and stretch. After going to the bathroom and getting myself dressed I head out to the kitchen to make a cuppa. Bradie is still asleep on the couch and I try not to make too much noise in the kitchen. I grab my phone and check it for messages but there is none.

Grabbing my coffee off the bench I walk out the back door and listen to the birds whilst sipping my drink. It's now two days until the party and I still don't know if I'm going to go or not. I really should go to help keep my friendship with Brooke and just avoid any confrontations with Andy if he turns up but I really just don't want to deal with public awkwardness and arguments.

I'm halfway through my coffee when I see Bradie's face appear at the kitchen window. I give him a little wave and he smiles and waves back. A minute or so later and he walks through the back door with a steaming cup of tea in his hand and sits opposite me.

"Morning" he says to me as he sips his tea.

"Good morning" I say as I watch him put his cup down and slowly turn it between his hands. He's slightly frowning and I fear he's about to give me some bad news. The way he keeps glancing at me, like he's trying to gauge my mood is troubling.

I take another mouthful of my coffee and eye him over my cup before just giving in and saying "okay, what's wrong?"

He takes another sip of his tea and I have a sudden urge to rip the cup from his hands.

Taking a deep breath he says "well, as you know, I saw Andy yesterday."

I nod my head, not allowing the words to escape my mouth.

"He didn't turn up to practice until late so I didn't get a chance to talk to him really all morning. And then at lunch time he said he had something to do so he nicked off before I could corner him. Even Shaun was going to have a few words with him but I think he realised and that's why he left. Anyhow, he didn't get back until after two and by that time we were way behind on practice."

"Bradie, its okay you know. You didn't have to talk to him about us" I tell him but he holds a hand up to silence me.

"I had to try Elle. For your sake, for his sake and for the sake of your baby, I had to talk to him."

I nod silently and stare at my cup.

"Lewis and Shannon turned up about an hour before practice ended and he was chatting to them a lot. So when we finally finished Shaun and I cornered him before he had a chance to nick off again. He looked like he wanted to make a break for it but after we told Lewis and Shannon we needed to talk about the band they left. Shaun started in on him first, getting up him for being late and not pulling his weight. I really wasn't listening to everything he said though. But when Shaun was finished I asked him for some privacy and Andy and I sat down and had a bit of a chat."

"What did you say to him?" I ask Bradie.

"Well, I did ask him if he had anything to say for himself and he told me to fuck off and mind my own business. I figured he would anyhow. So when I asked him why he was doing it he wouldn't answer me at all. Then when I told him how cowardly and callous it was to end everything in the form of a text message he just looked confused."

"What do you mean, he looked confused?" I ask, my heartbeat suddenly picking up.

"Well exactly that. He had no idea what I was talking about. When I told him what I could remember about it he just seems stunned. He swears black and blue he didn't send it to you."

Oh wow. There's that glimmer of hope again. "Do you believe him?" I ask, trying not to let the emotions show on my face.

"Yeah, I do. He showed me his phone. He never deletes his messages and it wasn't in his sent folder, so who ever sent it has deleted it so he wouldn't even know about it."

"But what does this mean though?" I ask Bradie, unsure of what his answer will be.

"Andy and I had a long talk about everything. I can kind of understand where he's coming from you know. He really is just trying to do what's best for you and the twins by staying away and making sure they're not exposed to any negative publicity that could come from him."

"By making us miserable in the process? How is that helping us?" I almost whine to him.

"Look Elle, Andy told me where he has been staying for the last few days and we think we've worked out who's behind all of this. The newspaper leaks, the information given to Dean's parents, even the text. Just give us a little more time to get some proof. If we can get this sorted out then I don't think there'll be any excuse that Andy can come up with to be apart from you guys, especially when you tell him you're going to be starting a family together."

"Really? Who do you think it is?" I ask him, leaning forward over the table in anticipation. I want to know who set out to ruin our lives like this and get a little bit of retribution back on them.

"I can't say anything at the moment, Andy made me promise to keep it to myself, but it won't be long until we can get what we need. I promise you, you'll be the first person who knows" he says to me, reaching out and taking my hand in his.

"Alright, I trust you Bradie. But you must tell me as soon as you know" I say.

"I promise" he says squeezing my hand. "Another thing, Andy said he wasn't going to Brooke's party on Saturday night so we can go looking at costumes today if you feel up to going?"

I nod my head as I hear the kids inside arguing in the kitchen. I grab my now empty cup and stand. "Come on, breakfast time" I say to Bradie as we go inside to start the day.

After we've returned home from the bus stop Bradie ducks next door quickly to see his Mum whilst I finish doing my morning chores. By the time he's back I'm ready to head to the costume store to find something for this party on Saturday night.

We take my car and park in the main street of town. There are two possible costume hire places we can try and I figure I might as well pick up some groceries whilst I'm here too. My duties as a Mother and the head of the house have been seriously lacking since last Friday and I really do need to pull my finger out and get organised.

We visit both stores, finally deciding on the priest and nun costumes. Only we would know the inside joke about the nun outfit on a pregnant woman, but at least it will keep a smile on my face throughout the night.

When we're done we grab some lunch and then hit Woolworths to do some shopping. A few people say hello to us and I realise I'm beginning to settle into life here in Budegewoi. I'm comfortable in my new surrounds and I enjoy the people who I now call my friends. Whatever happens as far as Andy is concerned, I know I will stay here to raise our child, with or without him by my side.

Bradie informs me later at home after helping me carry my things in that I really should make a doctors appointment to get checked out. I phone the surgery and make a time for Monday afternoon.

That evening, when we're sitting on the couch watching the TV I start to wonder how I'm going to tell the kids that they're going to have a new sibling. I think they will both eventually love the idea of it but I just know that Max is going to get angry when he finds out. I've noticed the last couple of days that he is losing his temper at lightening speed at anyone.

When the twins are tucked in bed I leave Bradie on the couch watching a movie whilst I sit at the kitchen table in front of my laptop. I haven't checked my mail in days and figure I had better catch up now since I'll be working tomorrow.

There's the usual junk, frequent flyer updates, an email from my parents and another from Matt. I'm surprised to see that there is one from Jim and Carol that was only sent this afternoon and I immediately open it.

It reads:

_Dear Elle,_

_Firstly, thank you for your email. You were right, we were told not to make contact with you but going against the lawyer's wishes was certainly a good idea. I had no idea of the trauma we were putting you and the twins through by doing this. _

_I want to explain that this was not our idea; it was a suggestion by our lawyer when we asked about possibly getting visitation rights. I believe he misunderstood what we wanted and took things too far too quickly. I wanted dearly to phone you and let you know what the purpose and reasoning behind all of this was but was told not to._

_Jim and I have contacted our lawyer and asked for the petition to be withdrawn. We have not heard back from him at this stage but I promise you that it will be done._

_I am so very sorry for the pain we have caused you and hope that deep in your heart you will realise that this was never done out of malice or spite, but simply because we love our grandchildren and you._

_Please forgive us._

_Jim and Carol_

Tears blur my vision and I heave a sigh of relief. Bradie's head appears over the back of the couch. "Are you alright?" he says and I smile big at him.

"I'm great" I say with enough happiness to make him stand from watching his movie and make his way over to me.

"What's going on?" he asks me as I push the laptop around so he can see the screen. He silently reads the email that is displayed before bending over and hugging me tight. Tears of joy stream from my eyes as I realise that the nightmare is over.

"This is brilliant news Elle. I'm so happy for you" he says with a huge grin.

"It's over" I say quietly to myself as I realise the gravity of this news. Andy doesn't have a reason to not be with me now. The case is being withdrawn, there's no chance of losing the kids. I am itching to phone him but Bradie seems to sense it and says "not just yet Elle. Let's work out who started all this crap in the first place."

I smile at him, amazed how attuned we have become to each other. "There's another one here from my lawyer anyhow that I should probably read."

"I'm going back to my movie and giving you some privacy, yell if you need me" he says before wandering back to the couch. I open the email and glance through it, it says nothing really of interest and he clearly hasn't been advised of the withdrawal yet so I continue to skim through the rest of my emails. When I'm finished and up to date I shut my laptop down but not before leaving a little tweet of a smiley face on twitter.

I put everything away and join Bradie in the lounge room, sitting back and watching the rest of the movie with him. When it's over, I say goodnight with a cuddle and head into bed. My mind is going a hundred miles an hour thinking about all the possible things that could occur in the next couple of days. I could be holding Andy this time tomorrow for all I know. Lost in daydreams and fantasies I finally let sleep wash over me.

When I get into work the next morning Sandra immediately notices my smile and corners me in the office.

"Okay, update me right now" she says, placing both her hands on my shoulders.

I quickly fill her in on the latest news and she hugs me tightly. "I'm so glad that's over" she says in my ear.

"Me too" I reply, holding her close. Again I'm so very grateful to have such fantastic friends that love and support me though these horrid things.

When she releases me I turn to the desk and set myself up for the day.

I receive a text from Vicki just after I start work to let me know that she's arrived safely. She asks if there's any news and I relay the new information to her, earning a 'fuck yeah, that's great' in reply. I smile to myself as I'm still surprised by the odd friendship we've developed between us recently.

Mid-morning she reappears to let me know she's doing a coffee run so I push myself back from the desk and walk out to the counter to cover for her whilst she's gone. I'm flicking through the magazine that she keeps under the counter when I hear the front door open and close. Looking up I see Shaun and Brooke making their way to the counter.

They both smile at me as I greet them good morning.

"How are you guys today?" I ask them both.

"Great, how are you doing?" Shaun asks me, a little surprised by my chirpiness.

"I'm just fine" I say.

"What's gotten you so happy this morning?" Brooke asks me.

I tell them about the court case being withdrawn and they both hug me in congratulations.

"That is wonderful news Elle" Brooke says when she releases me.

"Have you told Andy yet?" Shaun asks me as I step back behind the counter.

"No, not yet. Not sure that he'd take my call anyhow. Think I'll just wait until I hear from him again and then let him know."

"I don't understand. Isn't that the reason he left though? Because he thought this was all because he was in the picture?" Brooke says.

"I'm told it's a little more complicated than that but I'm hoping he'll listen to reason when I let him know" I reply.

"Do you want me to call him?" Shaun says but I shake my head in reply.

"No, it's okay. I'll tell him soon. Right now I'm just too excited that it's over with" I tell them both.

"Hey, how about we have lunch together today? We have a couple of things to do but we should be back by twelve." Brooke says.

"Yeah, of course, I'll see you when you get back" I say to them, mindful not to mention the surprise party, as they turn and leave as Sandra comes in.

She says a quick hello to them both before handing me my coffee which I readily accept.

I go out the back and continue on with my work until lunch time rolls around. Shaun and Brooke appear right on twelve o'clock and we head across the road to the deli to eat.

We talk about Brooke's birthday coming up and I ask her if she has any plans for celebrating it to try to throw her off the scent. She tells me that they are having a family dinner but maybe we might all go out clubbing the following weekend together instead.

Shaun tells me about seeing Andy at practice on Wednesday and tells me that he tried to talk some sense into him. What surprises me though is that he lets it slip that Andy is staying with Shannon at the moment.

"So he's camping out in Shannon's spare room is he?" I say, as casually as I can.

"Yeah, he's in the stock room for our Horeur stuff. Apparently Julie is staying with Shannon as well and has the other spare room" he says.

I swear my eyebrows touch my hairline as I sit back in shock. "I'm sorry, did you just say that Julie was staying there as well?" I reply.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter twenty-nine

The news that Julie was back on the scene was a shock to the system. I can't help but think she ultimately has something to do with all of this mess with Andy.

"So she's staying at Shannon's then?" I ask Shaun.

"Yeah, apparently she's been there for a few weeks but he didn't tell us since none of us can stand her anymore" Shaun tells me.

"Wait, so why would Andy stay there then?" Brooke asks, clearly unaware of this information as well. "She screwed everything up between Andy and Elle the last time she was in town."

"I have no idea" Shaun replies, sitting back in his chair and picking up the last of his burger. "But he's cranky as all fuck at the moment so I seriously doubt that he's even knows she exists."

My appetite has disappeared and I wrap the last of my sandwich up and throw it in the rubbish bin next to our table. I have no doubt in my mind that Julie is the root of this evil that has been making us all miserable.

Looking at her watch Brooke clears her throat before saying "Aren't you supposed to be back at work now?"

I glance at the time and gasp. I'm already ten minutes late. "Oh shit, sorry guys I've got to go. Thanks for having lunch with me though, I'll talk to you later on" I say as I stand quickly grabbing my bag and racing back to the shop.

"Sorry, sorry" I say as I walk in the door to Sandra. "I honestly had no idea I was running late, I'm so sorry" I say to Sandra but she just smiles and waves me off. "Let me go put my bag away and you can head off for lunch" I tell her, walking into the office.

I'm pulled up quickly by the appearance of a flower arrangement on my desk. I lean over and smell the beautiful mix of flowers before noticing the envelope with my name on it. I grab it and open it up, pulling a small note card out.

It's blank with a single X on it.

I frown slightly and turn it over in my hands but there is nothing else on it.

How odd.

I walk back out to Sandra who is standing there smiling at me, obviously waiting for my reaction.

"So, who are they from?" she asks me.

I hold the card out to her and she frowns as well. "Wait, is that it? Who the hell would send such beautiful flowers and leave an X on a card?"

"I have no idea" I say to her as I take the card back from her outstretched hand.

"You don't think it would be Andy?" she asks me.

"Flowers like these aren't really his style, and why wouldn't he sign it if it was though?" I reply.

"Maybe he just didn't know what to say to you? Perhaps this is just his way of saying he's thinking of you."

I'm deep in thought when I realise that Sandra still hasn't gone for lunch and I have more work that needs doing. "Why are you still here?" I say to her.

"Oh right, yeah, lunch. Okay, I'm going I'm going" she says grabbing her handbag from under the counter and heading for the door. "You ring me if you work out who it is, otherwise I'll be back in an hour" she says as she opens the door and steps out on the sidewalk.

I smile to myself at her enthusiasm but then the smile fades when I start to wonder who would have sent them to me.

I grab my phone out and give Bradie a quick call hoping he might know something but he doesn't answer. I leave him a voice message and go back to my work, hoping it will distract me enough to forget about the mysterious flowers.

By the time Sandra gets back I'm busy unpacking a box of stock that was delivered in her absence. She doesn't mention the flowers and I'm grateful that she is distracted by the new lot of dragon lamps that have arrived.

When three o'clock arrives I grab my things, flowers included and hug Sandra goodbye before making the drive home.

On the way I pull to the side of the road when my phone rings and I realise its Matthew my lawyer.

"_Hi Matt, what's up?" I say as I answer the phone._

"_Hello Elle, I'm just calling with some good news for you. It seems that the Piper's have had a change of heart and have withdrawn the custody claim. Congratulations" he says._

"_Oh terrific news, thank you so much Matthew" I say to him, as enthusiastically as I can._

"_Why do I get the feeling that you already knew about this?" he says. I obviously should not be an actor._

"_Ah, I might have already been told by Jim and Carol about it the other day actually. But thank you so much for ringing me and letting me know officially" I say to him._

"_That's fine Elle. I'm glad it's worked out for you; custody battles are so messy most of the time. Well, I just thought you should know. I'll let you go" he says to me._

"_Sure thing Matthew and thanks again for the call" I say before hanging up._

I pull back onto the road and continue on home. I run the flowers inside and put them in a vase before starting my walk to the bus stop. I still haven't heard from Bradie and his car is missing. I send him a quick text asking where he is as the bus pulls up.

The kids come flying off the bus, obviously happy its Friday and give me a hug. Their moods have been better since I spoke with them both and they are much more affectionate towards me now.

As we start to walk home my phone buzzes with a text message. It's from Bradie.

_In the city, sorting some band stuff out. I'll call you when I'm on my way back._

I tuck the phone into my back pocket and listen as the twins tell me about their day.

The rest of the afternoon passes without incident, almost. The kids notice the flowers of course and ask who they are from. When I tell them it's a bit of a mystery Lilly teases me about having a secret admirer whilst Max seems to get his nose out of joint about it. I guess he's thinking they're from Andy.

By the time Bradie phones I have dinner already made and on the table. I put his in the oven for when he gets home and the kids and I settle into a quiet evening.

Just after eight o'clock we hear Bradie's car pull up out the front. Lilly races to the front door to open it for him and as soon as he steps inside she proceeds to tell him all about 'Mum's secret admirer'.

Bradie glances at me and smiles before sitting down at the table and listening to all of Lilly's theory's as he eats his dinner. When he's finished it's time for the kids to go to bed.

I can hear Bradie in the kitchen washing up his plate as I say goodnight to them both and tuck them in. I pass him in the hallway on his way to say goodnight and I give him a small smile. I have no doubt in my mind I'm about to be asked twenty questions about these flowers so I make my way to the couch to wait for his return.

Surprisingly he's quite a while with the kids and by the time he's sitting next to me I'm beginning to wonder if perhaps he doesn't have some news of his own to share, judging by the look on his face.

"How was your day dear?" I ask him with a grin.

"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours" he replies cheekily.

"You first" I say but he shakes his head no to me.

"Oh fine. Alright, let's see. I had lunch with Shaun and Brooke today. Shaun let it slip where Andy is staying and I also know who else is staying there" I tell him.

A look of shock registers on his face. "So you know who we suspect of screwing with your lives then?" he says, to which I simply nod.

"Then when I got back to work someone had sent me a bunch of flowers, which Lilly told you all about, but with only an X on the card. You don't know anything about this do you?" I ask him.

"Nope, not a thing. Maybe Andy sent them to you but he didn't say anything to me about it. Who do you reckon did?" he replies.

"Andy is the only person who comes to mind to be honest, unless you were being nice to me but I would think you would have signed the card."

"It wasn't me, I swear" he says.

"Well, if it was Andy, why wouldn't he have signed it?" I ask.

"I don't know Elle."

"Oh and my lawyer rang and told me that the custody petition has been formally withdrawn so that made my day a little special" I tell him.

"I'm glad to hear it. That must be such a huge weight off your shoulders" he says.

"Yeah it is. So come on, your turn" I say.

"Alright, the record label wants us to film a DVD on this tour in July. Sort of like a documentary on how we got started, places where we've played, things like that."

"Really? That sounds awesome, I bet you're thrilled at that" I say.

"Extremely, we spent all day mapping out what the structure is going to be like and who's filming what and places we can go and people to interview. I'm really looking forward to this" he says.

We spend the rest of the evening on the couch talking about the DVD and eventually I go to bed around eleven.

Saturday morning we're all up early for the kid's soccer game. Bradie and I take them to the fields and spend the morning running up and down the sideline and helping out where we can. Their team wins and we have a celebratory lunch at Hungry Jacks with all the other kids and their parents. It's a very busy and noisy afternoon and when the time come for me to take them over to Sarah and Tom's place to stay the night I'm feeling a little exhausted.

Bradie and I have a drink before getting dressed in our costumes for Brooke's surprise party. I've told him I'm driving as I'm not supposed to drink too much now that I'm on the anti-depressants. We leave at just after six o'clock and make the twenty minute drive to Brooke's parent's house. We've been told to park in the next street over from theirs and to walk through the neighbouring park into the backyard.

There are already about sixty or so other people there and I wonder how the hell they are going to keep them all so quiet so that the surprise isn't given away. Bradie and I mingle with everyone else; the usual crowd is all present except for Andy. I even notice that Shannon's here and I begin to wonder if that tramp of a cousin of his has tagged along as well. Surely she wouldn't dare show her face considering none of us can tolerate her at all.

Suddenly Brooke's dad appears and hushes everyone indicating that Brooke has arrived with Shaun. We all take our positions behind anything we can find, the huge boat being the most popular with a lot of the guys climbing in it and hiding.

We hear Shaun's voice say the key sentence "I just wanted to show you something" and we all jump out and yell "Surprise!" at the top of our lungs. The look on Brook's face is priceless, somewhere between complete shock and happiness. She turns to Shaun when she realises that he's behind it all and playfully slaps his arm. We all have a giggle at that and people begin to step forward to give her their birthday wishes.

Brooke says thank you to just about everyone, Bradie and I included and dashes back inside with Shaun to change into her costume. When they return Brooke looks absolutely gorgeous in her fairy costume. Shaun went with my idea of a sexy 'True Blood' character but decided on the werewolf Alcide instead. It suits him really well though and he and Brooke mingle in the crowd.

I spot Alice dressed as Goldilocks and I make my way through the sea of people to say hello. Bradie has followed me, apparently deciding not to let me out of his sight and we find some seats and sit down.

She leans into me and asks me how I'm going and if I've seen a doctor yet. We settle into a long conversation about baby's names and the potential they have for shaping the child's life. Bradie tires of our conversation and decides to go and mingle with everyone else. At one point Shannon comes over and says hello and asks us both how we've been. We speak briefly with no mention of Andy's stay at his place before he disappears into the crowd again.

Dinner is served as a buffet and we line up with plates in hand to grab something to eat. Whilst Alice and I are waiting we see a blonde walk in dressed like Ke$ha. When she sidles up to Shannon's side both Alice and I realise its Julie.

I feel Alice's hand on my shoulder, either as a comfort or as a symbol to say that she's here for me. We move forward in the line and as I'm dishing potato salad on my plate I feel a tap on my shoulder.

Looking behind me I see Julie standing there. She smiles sweetly at me and says "Hello."

Not wanting to stoop to her level I simply give her a slight smile before saying "Hi Julie how are you?"

"I'm surprised you're talking to me" she says, her eyebrows disappearing under the mop that is her hair.

"Just being polite" I say before turning back around and continuing on with my dinner. A few moments later Alice leans into me and says very quietly "she's gone."

We make our way back to the seats to find Bradie waiting for us already with a plate loaded with food. He obviously saw Julie's interaction with me and he asks me constantly if I'm okay. I reassure him that I'm fine and when we've finished eating he takes our plates to the bin for us.

"I'm just going to go to the toilet" I say to Alice and head inside the house.

After getting directions from Brooke's dad I walk down the hall to the bathroom and toilet. As I'm washing my hands I look up to the mirror and watch as Julie steps in the room behind me.

I turn the taps off, grab the hand towel and dry my hands before turning around to look at the blonde bimbo before me.

"So how's your perfect life and your perfect little family now that Andy wants nothing to do with you?" she says.

I allow myself a moment to digest what she's saying. So many responses are going through my mind that I'm unsure how to reply. Instead I chose to simply stare at her, eyebrow raised in question.

She obviously expected a much bigger response from me because I can see the anger starting to form on her face.

I give up waiting for her to continue and push myself off the bathroom bench and walk past her to the door. As I'm stepping through the doorframe she decides to speak again.

"How does it feel to be dumped by a text? It must be wonderful to know that you meant that much to him that he couldn't even phone you."

I realise at that moment that she just confessed that it was her that sent that text. How else would she know about it? She has been the one behind this whole thing from the beginning. I feel the anger flood my senses as I turn and face her.

"Does it feel good?" she says looking real smug.

Before I know what I'm doing my hand is drawn into a fist and has connected with her cheekbone. She falls backward from the force of my strike and hits the tiled floor as Alice comes through the door behind me.

"Oh my God, are you alright Elle?" she says as I shake my hand by my side.

Brooke appears as well and they both ask me what happened. Julie is shouting things from the floor before Alice steps forward, towering over her and telling her to shut up.

After explaining that it was Julie that was behind everything, Alice is enraged and grabs her by the arms and marches her out the door. Brooke asks me again if I'm okay and I just nod, still reeling in anger.

Bradie rushes in and is immediately at my side. "I just saw Alice with Julie. Are you alright? You're not hurt are you?" he asks as he throws an arm around my shoulders and his other hand on my belly.

I hear Brooke gasp and I realise that Bradie has slipped up. "You're pregnant!" she exclaims.

I look at Bradie, vowing to remind him why these things need to be kept secret when Shaun wanders in too. Suddenly this little bathroom is very crowded.

"Did I just hear right? Did you deck Julie? And who's pregnant?" he says.

Rolling my eyes skyward I pray for a bit of patience as I take a deep breath.

"You two are sworn to secrecy okay, but yes. I'm pregnant."

"Holy fuck! Really? Congratulations" Shaun says as he hugs me to him. Brooke is quick to jump in on the hug and when they release me I'm thankful to be able to breathe again.

"I'm serious though, not a word to anybody. I very obviously haven't told Andy yet and I don't want him hearing about this on the grapevine" I say to them.

"Dude, you're going to be an uncle!" Shaun says, holding his hand out to Bradie and giving him the awkward one-armed man-hug. They are grinning at each other and Brooke is smiling at me with a tear in her eye.

"Alright guys, lets get out of here" I say as I lead them all out of the bathroom and back to the party. As soon as I sit down Shannon appears before me, apologising profusely for his cousin's behaviour yet again. I try to let him know that I don't blame him in any way and he finally believes me and wanders off in search of another drink.

Figuring that tonight has just been a little too eventful for my liking I find Bradie with Alice and tell them that I'm heading home.

"I'll come with you" he says. "Just let me finish this drink first."

Noticing that he's a little drunk something that doesn't happen very often, I insist that he stay.

"I'll drive him home Elle" Alice tells me and I feel relieved know that he's taken care of.

I find Shaun and Brooke and say goodnight to them both before walking to my car parked in the next street. I unlock the doors and climb in, grateful for the warmth since the chill in the air was starting to seep through my Nun's costume.

I pull the habit off my head and put it on the seat next to me as I start the car and head home. It's a little after midnight and when I'm halfway there my phone rings beside me. Glancing at the display I pull to the side of the road.

"_Yes Bradie" I say as I answer it._

"_I just wanted to make sure you're okay. Are you home yet?" he says_

"_Halfway there. I'll text you when I arrive DAD!" I say to him and he laughs._

"_You'd better or I'll send a search party out for you" he replies._

"_Alright, night Bradie" I say as I hang up the phone. _

Pulling back on the road I continue on, singing along to the radio as I go. I flex my hand a few times and realise that it's starting to swell a little. I'll have to remember to ice it when I get home.

I pull into the driveway and turn the car off as my phone buzzes with a text.

"_Are you there yet?"_

It's from Bradie again. I quickly type a reply to let him know I've just arrived and I push send before grabbing the habit from the passenger seat and exiting the car. I push the remote lock button on my key ring as I make my way to the front door.

As I lift my head I have a moment of shock as I realise that someone is sitting on my doorstep.

Andy looks up at me and gives me a slight smile.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter thirty

My heart beats hard in my chest and I swear I feel all the blood rush to my head. I plant my feet firmly on the ground to steady myself.

"Hi gorgeous" he says quietly.

Speech seems to be avoiding me and I stare stupidly at him.

"I'm sorry for turning up un-announced like this but I needed to see you, I think we need to talk about some things."

I blink as my mouth opens but words evade me. What the hell do I say?

"Do you think I can come inside?" he asks me and it seems to snap me out of the trance I'm in.

"Yeah, sure" I reply as Andy stands and I put my key in the door, turning the handling and walking inside. I flip the lounge room light on and walk to the kitchen, hearing the front door shut and Andy's footsteps behind me.

I put my phone, keys and the remains of my costume on the bench. "Do you mind if I get changed first?" I ask him and he shakes his head no.

"Nice costume by the way" he says as I walk into the bedroom and close the door behind me, leaving him sitting at the kitchen bench.

I quickly strip out of the nun costume, throwing it the floor and grab a jumper to put on with my jeans. What the hell is he doing here? Surely he couldn't have heard about Julie already. If Shaun has opened his big mouth and told him I'm pregnant I'm going to knife him.

I run a brush through my hair quickly before tying it up and walking back out to the kitchen, trying my hardest to not appear nervous.

"Sorry about that. Do you want a drink or anything?" I ask him.

"I'll have a cup of coffee if you're having one" he says, surprising me.

"You don't want a beer?" I ask.

"No thanks. I've been off the alcohol for a week or so now" he tells me.

"Really? Why is that?" I ask as I fill the kettle and turn it on, surprised at the civility of our conversation so far.

"I figured it was time for me to grow up a bit and start acting responsible for a change."

My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. I always thought of him as being responsible and I can't imagine why he'd think otherwise. But in the interest of keeping the peace I leave it at that.

I ready our cups, wondering if I should keep the pleasantries up when I hear him clear his throat.

"So I wanted to talk to you about a couple of things" he says and I turn my attention back to him.

I lean with my back against the bench and dig my hands into my pockets.

"Firstly, I want to say I'm sorry" he begins.

"The way I left was so cowardly and no doubt hurt you immensely. But I didn't know how else to leave. I knew if I tried to tell you face to face I would buckle and give in and things would have been worse. I would have made your life a living hell with my foul moods."

I swallow gently, digesting the information as I hear the kettle turn off from behind me. Using that as an excuse to break his eye contact I turn around and pour out our coffees. If I continue to look at the beautiful man sitting at my kitchen bench I may just start begging him to come back. Stirring the coffee I dump the teaspoon in the sink and hand him his cup before resuming my position.

"Do you understand though why I felt it necessary to leave?" he asks me.

I look at him before sipping my coffee and putting it back on the bench. Clearing my throat, hoping that my voice isn't going to waver I reply "I can see why you did it, but you have to know it wasn't the right thing."

"But don't you realise, it was my fault that the custody of the kids was challenged. It was because of me and my juvenile behaviour that got you into this mess. It's my entire fault. If I had grown up years ago and stopped behaving like such a giant asshole this wouldn't have happened. They would have no reason to try and take your children."

I release a sigh and let my head hang. Very obviously his guilt is eating him alive and I feel an urge to share my news and put him out of his misery. But before I get the chance to speak he starts talking again.

"I knew I was going to end up hurting you by leaving, but it would have hurt you more if I had stayed and you lost the kids."

I feel tears well up in my eyes and realise that this may quite possibly be the most selfless thing anyone has ever done for me. I wipe the tears away as the fall down my face, still refusing to look at him.

"Oh shit, see there I go again, I made you cry" he says.

I look up at him and try to smile, not quite managing it. I take a deep breath instead. "Why would you think you need to grow up when what you did is possibly the most beautiful display of love anyone has ever done for me?"

"But look at you! All I've done is upset you yet again."

"These are tears of happiness stupid" I say, wiping them away.

"Look Elle. I love you and you know that I do but I'm not going to be the one who is responsible for your life without your children."

I shake my head at him and almost let a giggle out. "You don't understand. You have no excuses not to stay" I say to him.

"Why? What's happened?" he asks me.

"I'm actually glad you showed up tonight. I've wanted to talk to you but I figured you wouldn't take my calls. But I have some news for you, several things actually."

"What?" he says, leaning forward on the bench.

"Before I tell you, I want to ask, why were you suddenly on my doorstep tonight?"

"Bradie rang and told me that you were heading home early from the party and that I should check on you. Something about having a run-in with someone?" he says.

"Oh okay, trust Bradie to remember to call you when he's drunk" I mumble to myself.

"What happened tonight?" he asks me.

His question reminds me that I should have some ice on my hand. I walk to the freezer and grab an icepack out and wrap it in the tea towel before putting it on my hand.

"What happened?" he asks me again.

"Oh, I'll get to that in a minute" I say as I walk around the bench and perch myself on the stool beside him.

I can feel Andy's gaze on me and I chance a glance sideways to see his blue eyes starting at me, waiting.

I break the contact and look down at my hand instead. "So first of all I guess you should know that the court case has been withdrawn."

"Really? That's brilliant news" he says, the grin present in his voice.

"Yeah, I managed to talk them out of it and it was officially withdrawn yesterday. So there's no reason to worry about that anymore" I say.

"I'm so happy for you" he says with a smile.

"I'm so glad that's over with. But I should also tell you that I know who it was that started all of this. Who tipped off the newspapers, who gave Jim and Carol the information and who sent me that text from your phone."

"It was Julie wasn't it?" he asks me.

I look up at him and nod. "Yeah it was. She actually had the nerve to confront me about it tonight and basically admitted to it."

"I knew it was her behind this but I had no way to prove it. When Bradie told me about that text that I apparently sent you I realised then that someone had been screwing with us. I was mortified when Bradie told me about it and that you had believed that I sent that. I wanted to call you and tell you that it wasn't me but I didn't know how" he says. Reaching over he takes my good hand in his and gently strokes it.

"How did you hurt your hand?" he asks me.

"I might have punched Julie when she had a go at me about you leaving" I tell him.

"You punched her, seriously?" he says, laughing a little.

"Yeah, well she deserved it" I reply turning and smiling at him. The feeling of his skin on mine is blissful and soothes my racing heart, as though he's the antidote to my anxieties. I still have one very important thing to tell him but I'm not sure how to say it.

"I see you got my flowers" he says to me, looking at the kitchen table where they sit.

"So it was you" I say, turning my hand over in his and holding it softly. I'm still amazed by the feel of his calluses against my skin.

"Who did you think it was?" he says with a grin.

"Well you did leave me guessing with your mysterious card and all."

"Ah well I stood for twenty minutes in that florist trying to put into words what I wanted to say and couldn't decide on anything that covered it. I figured a single kiss could be the beginning then I'd man up and tell you the rest in person."

"What did you want to tell me then?" I ask him.

"That I miss you, that I want to be a part of your life again, if you'll let me. I realised I hadn't been living by those words I had tattooed on my arms and decided that I need to get my shit sorted out. I would have come and seen you anyhow, even if Bradie hadn't called me like the drunken ass that he is. Do you think you can forgive me?"

I return his smile and when he leans forward towards me I don't hesitate to meet his lips in a sweet lingering kiss. When we pull apart I suddenly realise how I'm going to tell him the news.

"What does your tattoo mean again?" I ask him.

"Oh it's Danish for Seize the Day" he says.

I smile at him and say "so what's Danish for daddy?"

He seems to think for a second before replying "I think its farmand."

I stare at him for a little bit and I can see the point when he realise what I just said.

"Do you mean what I think you mean?" he says the look of shock registering on his face.

I smile at him and he kind of shakes his head slightly before saying "you're pregnant?"

"Yeah, I am" I say and the grin on his face erupts into pure happiness.

"We're having a baby, seriously?" he says and I nod in response.

I'm dragged onto his lap and showered with kisses all over my face. I'm giggling so much I nearly wet myself from laughing.

"I love you so much" he says as he slows down his kissing feast on my face and ending it with a soft one to my lips.

"I love you too" I say him as he holds me tight.

"So you'll have me back?" he asks me.

"I never let you go in the first place" I tell him before his lips meet mine again in a long steamy kiss that's been absent for what feels like years.

His hands wind their way around my back and I turn my body to straddle his lap on the kitchen stool. Every thing I'm feeling, every emotion feels as though it has doubled now that we are together again.

We kiss each other until my lips are almost numb, savouring every taste, every sensation that I've missed for the last week or two. When Andy whispers in my ear that we should take ourselves to the bedroom I don't hesitate in removing myself from his lap and dragging him with me.

Our touch is slow and savouring, taking our time to reacquaint ourselves thoroughly. When our clothes are gone and our skin touches it's like a magnetic attraction, neither of us letting go. Our lovemaking is slow and tender and my heart pounds in my chest in anticipation of our climax. The sweat rolling down Andy's face mingles with mine and our breaths are shared.

When we share our climax we whisper words of love to each other. I don't want to sleep for fear that this was all a dream and I'm going to wake up alone in the morning but the increased hormones in my body from my pregnancy are playing havoc with my energy levels.

I'm guessing Andy has been missing sleep lately too because we drift off to sleep together, the last thing I remember was feeling incredibly contented and complete.

Andy's Point of View

My sleep was the best I've had since leaving. I can feel Elle in my arms and I look down to see her face. She is sound asleep and snoring every so softly. I feel the smile on my face grow as I remember the moment she told me I was going to be a daddy. I don't think I've ever been as happy in my life as I was in that moment. The sheer joy, the emotional ecstasy that I felt at knowing we were going to have a baby was so overcoming I actually remember feeling light-headed.

I cuddle Elle tighter to my chest and daydream about our child and our future together. Half an hour later I can't stand the pressure on my bladder any longer and I release my hold on my beautiful girl and slide myself out of bed and into the ensuite.

When I walk back out to the bedroom I crawl onto the bed and pull the covers back so I can snuggle under the doona with her again.

My mind suddenly alerts me to the dark stain on the sheets that I'm holding and my heart thunders in my ears. There is blood everywhere and I feel as though I'm going to throw up. I reach over to Elle and gently shake her, trying to rouse her out of her sleep but she's not waking up.

"Elle, come on, wake up!" I'm practically shouting at her but there's no response. I'm unsure what to do and I run out to the kitchen naked and grab my phone from the bench. Dialling 000 I run back to the bedroom and try to wake her again.

"Triple-o emergency, fire, police or ambulance?" the operator says in my ear.

"Ambulance" I practically shout as I'm shaking Elle's shoulder trying not to look at the amount of blood on the sheets. An alarm seems to sound in my brain and I place my ear to her chest, trying to hear if she is breathing. I think I can hear her heart beating as a voice says in my ear "Ambulance, what is the nature of your emergency?"

"My girlfriend, I just woke up and she's unconscious in bed next to me. There's blood everywhere though" I manage to say.

"Do you know why she's bleeding? Is there any obvious wounds?" the lady asks me.

"She's pregnant, that's the only thing I can think of" I reply holding Elle's hand in mine and silently praying for a miracle.

"What's your address sir?" she asks me and I proceed to give her the details that she asks.

She keeps me talking on the phone whilst an ambulance is on its way and when I hear it pull into the driveway I hang up the phone and grab some jeans. There's a knock on the front door and as much as it kills me to leave her, I run and unlock the door, the two ambulance officers following me into the bedroom.

I stand and watch as they assess her and I notice that it's only four thirty in the morning. I hope like hell that the kids don't hear the commotion that's happening and as they load Elle onto a stretcher and wrap her in a sheet I follow them out the door and into the back of the ambulance.

The ride is quick, it's so early and there is no traffic to speak of. One of the officers sits with me and Elle in the back of the ambulance. He manages to get a drip on her and takes her blood pressure and temperature as well whilst asking me all sorts of questions but they are really like white noise to me.

I must have answered him on autopilot because before I know it we've arrived and I'm following the gurney into the hospital. I hear words like miscarriage and haemorrhage thrown around but my focus is solely on Elle. Everything else is like a blur.

When the machine next to her bed begins to beep erratically I panic and scream out for a doctor to come. I watch as the nurses race around and push me out of the way. I try to hold her hand but it slips from my grasp. I watch in horror as her eyes flick open and she mouths my name before falling limply back on the bed.

I can't hear anything as I'm pushed from the room by three nurses. They are saying things but there is a loud scream in my head that is reverberating in my brain, maybe it's me. I'm pushed into the hallway but I can still see the doctor and nurses frantically working on Elle.

My heart is breaking and I feel as though I'm going to throw up or pass out. How the fuck could this be happening? Not now, not when we've finally got everything sorted out, not when we were becoming a family together.

I watch as they wheel the gurney past me and into the operating theatres. A nurse sits with me and tries to comfort me but I'm unresponsive.

Time moves slowly and I feel helpless and broken. The doctor comes out and takes me in the room again, this time there is no one else there except Elle. I notice that there is no longer a drip in her arm and the machine that is connected to her pulse is sounding a low intermittent beep.

He sits me in a chair next to the bed and calmly tries to explain what happened. The only thing I manage to hear though is when he tells me that I should say goodbye now.

My lip trembles and I feel my body start to shake. It can't end. Not like this. The doctor tells me that she may be able to hear me but there won't be any physical response. The haemorrhage has resulted in major blood loss, which also caused a small stroke that I witnessed earlier and as a result she's lost most of the functions of her brain. They tried to stop the internal bleeding but it was unsuccessful.

"She is only hanging on I think so that you can say your goodbye" the doctor says to me as he stands, placing a hand on my shoulder before leaving the room, closing the door behind him.

I take several breathes, trying in vain to calm myself enough to make this count.

Taking her hand in mine I run my fingers over her palm whilst mentally composing my words.

"I'm glad I came back to you Elle. If nothing else, I'll always be glad that I came back and we spent last night together. I love you so much" I manage to get out before the tears take over again.

Breathing deeply I wipe them away before leaning over and kissing her forehead. "Please don't leave me. Without you I'm nothing" I whisper in her ear before kissing her lips softly. "Nothing at all" I manage to say before I hear the machine sound one long continuous beep.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter thirty-one

Andy's Point of view

My mind is black, my thoughts have gone astray. I can hear the sounds of my sobbing and my heart constricts in my chest. Emptiness invades my head and I fade into nothing. Until I hear a voice. It's angelic. It could only be Elle's.

"Andy, wake up honey, please" I hear her say as consciousness floods my thoughts and I blink my eyes open. What I'm seeing doesn't make sense.

The worried face, her hands on my body, the heat I can feel from her touch. It's all present, it's all before me. My brain is running at full speed and when I finally piece it together my mouth catches up.

"Elle, you're alright" I manage to get out before pulling her to me, vowing to myself to never let her go. Kissing her hair, breathing in her familiar scent I whisper to myself "you're alive." It was only a dream.

The relief overwhelms me and I'm crying like a baby again. It was only a dream. She's here, with me. She's telling me what I've only just worked out for myself. She's perfectly fine, safe in my arms. I silently make a promise not to let her go again.

Elle's point of view

Consciousness wakes my brain to the sounds of sobbing and the feeling of being in a noose. I'm being slowly squeezed tighter and tighter and I'm beginning to wonder if someone is trying to smother me.

I move my hand from beneath the warmth and manoeuvre myself to find the source of the noise.

Andy is lying there sobbing, his face is clenched painfully tight and he looks almost tortured. I push myself away from him and say his name aloud. He doesn't seem to hear me and I shake his shoulder roughly, trying to get him to wake up from whatever horrific dream he's having.

"Andy, wake up honey, please" I say loudly in his ear and his eyelids flicker before opening suddenly. I watch as a torrent of thoughts flash through his eyes before he finally recognises me.

"Elle, you're alright" he says as his arms pull me tightly to him once again. "You're alive" he whispers as he kisses the side of my head several times. I hear his breathing pitch and realise he's crying again.

Pulling back from him I gently stroke his face and wipe away the tears. "Hey, I'm fine, it was just a dream" I say as his face crumples again before me and he dissolves into sobs.

"I know, I know, thank fuck for that" he manages to choke out before cuddling me again.

I hold him close to me and he continues to sob into my chest. I can feel the moisture seeping through the sheets that have somehow got between us and I stretch my arm to the bedside table and grab him some tissues before wiping his tears away.

He takes a deep breath and looks up at me; the red lining his eyes is heartbreaking for me to see.

"Don't ever leave me" he whispers.

I bend and kiss his forehead before gently saying "why would I do that? I love you. I'm not going anywhere."

He tightens his hold on me and rests his face on my chest again. I gently stroke his back and listen to his breathing calming down.

"Do you want to tell me what your dream was about?" I ask him, genuinely curious.

"I lost you" he says, his voice cracking slightly.

"I'm right here" I reply as I run my fingers through his hair.

"I know, but it seemed so real you know. Like it actually happened" he tells me. He takes a steadying breath before lifting his head from my chest again and staring me in the eyes. "I wanted to die with you."

I feel an eyebrow arch and immediately wonder what the hell he was dreaming about. "What a weird thing to say. What happened in your dream?"

"I don't want to go over it again just yet" he says before lying back down again. We sit in comfortable silence for a good half an hour or so before my pressing bladder urges me to get up.

"I have to go to the bathroom" I tell him as he sits up and releases me. I scoot out of bed and glance at the clock. It's after eight already and the kids will be chomping at the bit to come home.

When I reappear out of the ensuite dressed, Andy is still in bed, but sitting up this time. "Are you okay?" I ask him, the worry clearly etched on his face.

"Yeah, I'll be fine" he says looking at me and smiling softly.

"I'm starving, I need to eat. Come on, let's go have breakfast and then go see your family. I'm sure they'll be pleased that you're back" I say.

"Alright, I'm just going to jump in the shower real quick if that's okay" he says as he stands up. His body distracts me from what I was going to do and I blatantly stare at him as he rounds the bed and walks towards the ensuite.

"See something you like?" he asks me with a cheeky smile.

Happy that he seems to be back to normal I give him a quick wink and say "Always."

He wraps his arms around me and kisses me softly before slapping my bum. "Go and make me breakfast woman before you're too pregnant to get near the stove" he says with a grin before quickly running into the ensuite before I get a chance to slap that lovely ass of his.

"Charming Andy" I say as I head out to the kitchen. I hear the water in the shower go on and I put the kettle on and start making some pancake batter. By the time Andy is out I have three pancakes already made for him with a coffee as well.

He sits at the kitchen bench and starts on his breakfast as I finish making mine. I turn the stove off and lean against the bench as I cut my pancake up. As I bring it to my mouth the smell hits me in a wave and the nausea instantly overtakes me. I quickly turn to the sink and throw up the three mouthfuls of coffee I've had this morning.

Andy is around the bench with his hand on my back in an instant. I take a breath and rinse my mouth out with water. "Are you okay gorgeous?" he asks me.

"Yeah, sorry, I just felt sick all of a sudden" I tell him as I stand up straight again. He brushes the hair from my face and stares me in the eyes.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asks me.

"Yeah, I'm okay, just a bit of nausea I think. You might as well have my pancake too" I tell him.

"Is this the start of morning sickness?" he asks me.

"I have no idea, I never got it with the other two" I tell him.

"Right, well tomorrow, you and I are going to see Doctor Simpkins and we're going to make sure everything is okay."

He pauses and looks at me thoughtfully before saying "you know, I don't even know when you're due" he says.

"The first of February" I say with a smile.

He returns m smile, kissing my forehead and saying "February hey? Well I guess I'll have to make sure that we aren't touring or anything around then."

I nod my head as I grab my coffee and take a sip. Andy moves back around the bench and I watch as he devours his pancakes, followed by mine.

"So who else knows that you're expecting?" he asks me as he washes down his breakfast with his coffee.

"Umm, Alice and Bradie do, and Vicki as well. And last night Shaun and Brooke accidentally found out too."

"How did they accidentally find out?" he asks me.

"Well, after I had that little push and shove with Julie, Bradie came in with Brooke and Alice to the bathroom to check on me. He made the mistake of putting his hand on my stomach and Brooke just clicked. Shaun came in as she was asking me if it was true."

"Of course Bradie would know. That explains why he's been so protective of you lately. I asked him a few times how you were but he would just give me generic answers, nothing specific." He pauses and looks down at his empty plate. "So when did you find out?" he asks me.

"Ah, let's just say I had an incident and I had to get checked out by a doctor and I found out that way."

"So you've already seen Dr Simpkins then?" he asks me.

"Ah no, not exactly. I saw a lady doctor at the hospital" I tell him.

"Why were you at the hospital?" he asks me, frowning.

Taking his dirty plate and cup from him I start on the dishes whilst I explain to him about my little breakdown that I had.

When I've finished he looks a bit pissed. "Why the fuck didn't anyone call me?" he says.

"I made them all promise not to tell you, your mum and dad included."

"Wait a minute. Do they know you're pregnant?" he asks me, the worry evident on his face.

"No of course not, I wasn't planning on telling anyone before you, but things don't always go to plan."

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. I should have realised you wouldn't do that. So when did you want to tell everyone then?" he asks me.

"Umm well how about we just let your family know at the moment and tell everyone else after we've seen the doctor and had everything confirmed?"

"What about Max and Lilly? Do they know yet?" he asks me.

"I think it will be enough for them to deal with you coming back at the moment. I don't want to overload them with information. It's a lot them to deal with."

"Okay, well how about we go and see them when we've finished the dishes?" he says standing and grabbing the tea towel from the bench. "Is there anything you can eat though? You said you were hungry" he says.

"There may be some Cruskets or something in the cupboard I can have. I'll have a look in a minute" I tell him as I finish wiping the bench.

When I 'm done I search through the pantry but don't manage to find anything suitable. I might ask Sarah if she has any dry biscuits.

"I'm going to brush my teeth and then we'll get going" Andy says from behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing my cheek.

"Alright then, I'll be in the bathroom in a minute" I reply as I continue my hunt for something edible.

I manage to find a box of Jatz biscuits at the back of the cupboard and retrieve them. I open the packaging and try eating one. When I'm satisfied that I'm not going to hurl again I stuff two more in my mouth and thank heavens for Arnott's biscuits.

Andy returns to find me happily munching away on my breakfast and has a laugh at me. "I see you found something then" he says.

I put the box on the bench and hold my index finger up to him, signalling to hold on for just a second, whilst I finish my mouthful.

"I didn't realise I was that hungry" I say as I go to the fridge and grab a water bottle.

"Are we going?" he asks me, one eyebrow raised.

"Oh right, hang on, I'll just go and brush my teeth" I say as I rush to the ensuite.

When I come back out he's waiting at the front door for me. I quickly dash to the kitchen, grab my box of Jatz and head out the front door with Andy close behind.

"Where's your car by the way?" I ask him.

"It's still at Shannon's house. I caught a taxi here last night" he tells me as we walk up the driveway.

He opens the front door and I walk inside with him right behind me, his finger tips hooked into the back pocket of my jeans.

"Hello" I sing out to see who's around.

"We're out back" I hear Sarah say as we walk towards the back door.

I step outside, Sarah looking up and smiling at me before she realises that Andy is behind me.

"Andy" she breathes out before standing and coming towards us. I feel his hand release my jeans as I go over to the swings where the kids are playing quietly.

"Morning Tom" I say as I walk past him, his smile is huge as he stands and walks toward his wife and Andy.

"Morning Elle, lovely day isn't it?" he says with a wink.

"Yes, yes it is" I reply with a huge grin.

I say hello to the children and surprisingly they are all very cheery. Even Max is smiling and seems very interested in the return of Andy.

I walk back over to the outdoor setting and sit down waiting for Sarah, Tom and Andy to join me. I open my box of Jatz again and continue eating.

"So, Elle, want to join me in the kitchen?" Sarah asks me and I follow her inside.

"He's back" she says, leaning against the kitchen counter whilst waiting on the kettle to boil.

"Yep" I answer, keeping my jubilation low-key.

"Are you okay with that?" she asks me and I realise she has no idea about Julie. I proceed to fill her in on everything that happened last night, well almost everything. Tom and Andy come in halfway through and listen as I explain it all. When I'm finished, Sarah looks like she's ready to murder someone. Tom grasps Sarah's hand in his and gives it a gentle squeeze.

"I've put the kids in the playroom, Andy said he needs to talk to us all without them overhearing us" Tom says.

I smile at Andy as he walks over to where I'm standing and puts his arm around my waist, pulling me in front of him and resting his head on my shoulder.

"Take a seat guys" he says to his parents. They are looking awfully suspicious but do as he asks.

We didn't discuss how we were going to tell them the news so I let Andy take the lead.

"So we wanted to tell you guys something, some happy news this time. Elle's pregnant" he says.

The look of shock registers on Tom's face but Sarah looks slightly smug.

"I thought you were" she says to us, smiling her head off. "Oh I'm so happy for you two" Sarah says as she stands and comes and envelopes us in a group hug.

Tom stands back and waits for Sarah to release us from her bear-hug before moving forward to shake Andy's hand then giving me a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"What do you mean you thought so?" I ask Sarah as Tom releases me.

"I just had this feeling, things were different, and you were a little different. Bradie knows too doesn't he because even he's been acting weird."

I nod my head in reply as she says "I thought as much."

"This is such good news" Tom says. "So when are you due Elle?"

"Around the start of February at this stage but I'm not 100% certain. I have to go see the doctor this week. But I do want to ask one thing of you guys, please don't tell this to anyone just yet? The kids don't know and I'd prefer to wait until after the first three months is over" I say to them.

"Of course Elle, we will tell no one about this" Tom says.

We spend the rest of the morning at Sarah and Tom's place, realising after an hour or so that Bradie isn't even home. Turns out he didn't make it back and I have an uncontrollable urge to ring Alice and demand to know where he is. I tell Andy about the party last night and when we get home just before lunch I grab my phone and call him.

There's no answer so I send a text asking him to call us instead.

We spend a few hours lazing around the house, enjoying the peace and quiet. Around three o'clock I drive Andy back to Shannon's so he can get his car and his things. I tell him I'll meet him at home, allowing him time to talk to Shannon and explain the situation.

Just before I serve dinner Andy arrives home, lugging bags inside to put away in our room again. After we have eaten, we sort through his things as Max and Lilly watch TV.

At eight thirty I put the kids to bed and go back to helping Andy with his things. When we are done it's almost nine-thirty and I'm exhausted. These extra hormones zooming around my body are wearing me out so fast these days. We have a shower together and then I crawl under the doona before promptly falling asleep on Andy's chest.

The alarm shrills in my ears and I blindly reach out and switch it off. Forcing my eyes to open I roll out of bed and head to the bathroom for what feels like the eighth time since going to bed. Andy is still fast asleep. I have no idea what time he finally dozed off but I know it was after midnight.

I get dressed and go out to get the day started. The kids are already up and we have breakfast together. Strangely enough they both seem quite fine with Andy's return and I'm pleasantly relieved by this. I felt sure that Max was going to have his back up over it but he seems to be taking it all just fine.

After breakfast the kids get dressed for school whilst I clean everything up. I poke my head into the bedroom and find Andy still sound asleep. In fact, he hasn't moved from the position I left him in.

I duck into the ensuite, making sure that I'm as quiet as possible, and brush my hair and teeth. I kiss Andy's forehead gently before leaving the room and walking the kids to the bus. I say goodbye them both as they board the bus and walk back home slowly.

Bradie is sitting on top of my letterbox when I return and he gives me a slow smile.

"Good morning Bradie, and just where have you been hiding?" I ask him with a grin.

"Ah, well, I stayed at Alice's place Saturday night and then we didn't get up until late yesterday so I just decided to stay there again last night."

What did he just say? Did he say what I think he did? "Wait? What does this mean?" I ask him, my jaw hanging so low I swear I feel the grass tickling my chin.

"Ah, I'm not sure but I think Alice and I are going to give it another go" he tells me.

"Really? That is brilliant news" I squeal as I hug him tightly.

"You're okay with this?" he asks me as I release him.

"Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?" I ask.

"Alice and I weren't too sure what you'd think" he says, looking a little nervous.

"You two are my best friends, why wouldn't I be happy for you both?" I tell him.

"I can't help but notice the car in the driveway" he asks me.

"You haven't been home yet have you?" I ask him, noticing that he is still wearing the same clothes.

"No, I haven't. Tell me what's going on" he says.

I re-cap on the events of the last twenty-four days for him and his smile matches mine by the time I'm finished.

"So he knows about the baby then?" he asks me.

"Yeah, he does" replies Andy walking up behind Bradie is just a pair of jeans and nothing else. Hormones rage around my body and my mouth floods with saliva.

He shakes Bradie's hand and does the one-armed hug. Bradie relays his news as well and I realise we are still gathered around the letterbox. I invite Bradie into our house and make us all hot drinks.

The boys are deep in conversation when I realise I have to go into Tinkerbells to pick up the weekend invoices. I let the boys know and head into town.

When I arrive, Sandra greets me with a smile and instantly corners me when I start grinning excessively. I tell her the whole story and by the time I'm finished it's almost lunch. I quickly grab my paper work and send Andy a message to let him know I'll pick up lunch for us all.

I walk across the road when I receive a return text from him. He tells me that he and Bradie have already driven to the local shops and they're waiting on fish and chips. I let him know that I'll be home in half an hour as I walk through the doors to the deli and greet Alice with a big smile.

We exchange hugs and then news with each other. Today is a brilliant day. I haven't smiled this much in what feels like forever. When I leave I promise that we'll do a double date soon and I head to the car and drive back home.

When I arrive, Bradie and Andy still aren't back yet with lunch so I settle down to do a bit of paper work instead. When they finally do return they are both full of apologises but I wave a hand at them to silence them.

"I'm pregnant, and I'm hungry, feed me" I say with a serious look on my face.

Bradie lets out a bit of a giggle before coming over to me and kissing the top of my head.

"Something's come up, you two enjoy your lunch and I'll talk to you both later" he says. I smile in return and mention the double date that Alice and I had discussed before he leaves.

When the front door closes Andy takes the fish and chips out of my hands and says "come on. We're going to the park to eat this."

"Oh okay, but can't I just have a couple of chips first?" I ask him.

"You can wait ten minutes surely" he replies, grabbing his keys off the bench with his wallet and phone.

I sigh before replying "sure, it's not as though I'm dying here or anything" which earns me a grave look over his shoulder at me.

"Not funny" he says as I follow him out the door, pulling it shut behind me.

"I thought it was" I mumble as I follow him grudgingly to the car.

We drive the short distance to the park, Andy filling me in on his and Bradie's catch up from this morning.

It's a Monday and there is hardly anyone here at all. "Grab the blanket out of the boot for me please?" Andy asks me and I walk to the back of the car and open the lid, grabbing the travel rug he keeps in there and slamming the boot shut.

"Are you cranky?" he asks me.

"I'm hungry. So yes, that makes me cranky" I reply.

"Okay, okay, I've learned my lesson, don't deny you of food when you're hungry, got it."

"Good, now give me the chips" I say with a smile as I playfully reach out for the wrapped lunch he's carrying tightly.

"Not until we get to our spot and sit down. It's easier then, you'll just spill them everywhere if you open it here" he tells me, heading in the direction of the lake.

I follow and as we approach the little bench seat where we first fell in love I feel myself smile automatically.

This is such a beautiful and peaceful spot that I'm sure will always hold a sacred place in my heart. I spread the blanket out and plonk myself down on top of it, feeling calmer now that we have reached our special place.

I watch as Andy puts the fish and chips down and sits back, he glances up at me and I swear I see a bit of fear in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" I ask him. "I haven't scared you off with all these stupid pregnancy urges have I? " I ask him.

He smiles softly and shakes his head. "No, not at all" he replies and I hear him suck in a breath before saying "I thought you were hungry?"

I lean over and kiss him softly, our lips meeting briefly before I smile and sit back again.

"Yeah, I am. Mushy stuff later, right now, I've got to eat" I say as I begin to pull away the paper around our lunch. I smooth it all down and grab some chips from the top of the pile and shove them into my mouth. Their salty flavour almost makes me moan in delight and I lick my fingers clean.

"Aren't they hot?" Andy asks me. "Perhaps you should spread them around?"

"They aren't too bad" I say as I start to spread out the greasy fried potato fingers. Something sparkles and it catches my eye, followed quickly by my breath being caught in my throat.

It's a ring. It's a diamond ring.

Andy rises from his relaxed position, bringing a knee up and kneeling before me as he picks up the ring and licks his lips.

"Elle Piper. I love you and I don't ever want to be apart from you again. Will you marry me?" he asks me nervously.

I blink furiously, trying in vain to hold the tears back. Andy is declaring his love for me. He wants me forever. I swallow the lump in my throat as a myriad of thoughts travel through my head. The most prominent ones being do I say yes or do I say no?

Isn't this what I want? Andy and I together, raising our child together? Once bitten, twice shy keeps flashing in my thoughts and as I glance to Andy I realise I still haven't answered him.

I smile and lick my lips as I prepare to give him my answer.

Thankyou guys so very very much, from the bottom of my heart. I can't tell you how much it means to me that you have read all of this and stuck with me from the beginning.

To rabbits_told_me and HighwayPhantom1, without you two encouraging me and kicking me up the ass, I would never have written so much. I'm blessed to be able to call you both my true friends.

To ohhaialeish, my sounding board, my plot devisor, my friend, thank you. You mean more to me than you will ever know.

For everyone else, I sincerely thank you all.

Elle x


End file.
